Taylor Swift wrote “august” first among the three Folklore songs in the love-triangle storyline.
The related trio consists of “august,” “cardigan,” and “betty.” Each song presents a different perspective on the triangle involving Betty, James, and the unnamed narrator of “august.” Swift wrote “august” before the other two songs in that narrative set.
“august” is told from the viewpoint of a girl involved with James during a summer when he is already connected to Betty. “cardigan” represents Betty’s perspective, while “betty” is written from James’s perspective.
The narrator of “august” is not given a firm name in the song. Swift said she privately imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine, which is why fan discussions sometimes treat those as official character names even though they are not stated in the lyrics.