Taylor Swift’s “cardigan” is one of the three connected Folklore songs that share the fictional love-triangle storyline with “august.”
The three chapters are “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” They portray different perspectives and points in the lives of Betty, James, and the unnamed girl involved in James’s summer romance.
“cardigan” is associated with Betty’s perspective, “betty” follows James, and “august” follows the girl who becomes involved with James during the summer. The songs are linked by characters, memories, and recurring imagery rather than by a single continuous musical form.
Listeners sometimes describe the trilogy as autobiographical, but Swift presented the characters and story as fictional. The connected narrative was part of Folklore’s broader emphasis on invented people, imagined histories, and storytelling beyond Swift’s personal life.