Taylor Swift wrote “august” first among the three Folklore songs forming the James-Betty love triangle.
The trilogy consists of “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” Each song presents a different viewpoint or angle on the fictional relationships among James, Betty, and Augustine. “august” was the first of the three that Swift wrote, even though the songs are often discussed together as a connected narrative.
The track’s story follows Augustine’s perspective as she becomes emotionally attached to James during a short summer romance. James later returns toward Betty, leaving Augustine with memories of a relationship that was never fully hers.
The writing order is easy to confuse with the album’s track order or with the order in which listeners discovered the trilogy. The fact concerns when Swift wrote the songs, not their positions on Folklore.