Taylor Swift’s “cardigan” tells Betty’s side of the story connected to “august.”
The three songs “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty” are linked by a fictional love triangle. “cardigan” is associated with Betty, “betty” presents James’s perspective, and “august” follows the unnamed young woman who has a summer relationship with James. Together, they form one of Folklore’s most discussed narrative devices.
The songs are not arranged as a single continuous musical suite. They are separate tracks with different moods, narrators, and musical settings. Their connection comes from recurring characters, events, and emotional details. This structure lets Swift show how memory and responsibility can differ between people involved in the same story.
Some listeners incorrectly identify “betty” as Betty’s song because its title uses her name. In the fictional narrative, however, that track is associated with James, while “cardigan” is the song connected to Betty’s viewpoint.