James is the 17-year-old boy in Taylor Swift’s “august” storyline.
The song is narrated by an unnamed young woman who becomes involved in a brief summer romance with James. She hopes the relationship might become permanent, but James ultimately returns to Betty, his former lover.
This narrative connects “august” with “Cardigan” and “Betty” on Folklore. “Cardigan” presents Betty’s perspective, while “Betty” presents James’s perspective. Together, the songs form a fictional love triangle rather than a confirmed account of Swift’s personal life.
Listeners sometimes identify the narrator as Augustine, but Swift said that name was one she used privately for the character. James is the clearly named teenage boy at the center of the story.