The unnamed narrator of Taylor Swift’s “august” is trying to win over James.
The narrator describes an undefined summer relationship with James, including waiting for his calls and hoping the connection might become permanent. The emotional tension comes from her realization that James is already tied to Betty and that the romance was never fully hers.
Swift created the story as fiction rather than presenting it as a direct account of her own life. That approach was central to Folklore, whose songs often imagine characters, settings, and events outside the singer’s personal biography.
The narrator herself is not formally named in the song. Swift said she privately thought of her as Augusta or Augustine, but those names are not established as the character’s canonical name. James is the definite answer because the song’s connected narrative identifies him directly.