The narrator of Taylor Swift’s “august” is pursuing James during a fictional summer romance.
James is one point of a love triangle spread across three Folklore songs. He is also central to “cardigan” and “betty,” which present related events from other perspectives.
In “august,” the narrator becomes attached to James even though he is already connected to Betty. The relationship is temporary and undefined, leaving the narrator with memories of a romance she hoped might become something more.
Swift created the characters as part of an imagined narrative rather than presenting the song as a direct account of her own life. That fictional framework is one reason the three songs are often discussed together as a connected story.