“Cardigan” tells the connected Folklore love-triangle story from Betty’s perspective. Along with “august” and “Betty,” it forms a three-song narrative about Betty, James, and the unnamed narrator of “august.”
“Cardigan” is the album’s opening track, while “Betty” presents James’s perspective. “august” focuses on the girl involved in a brief summer romance with James, who is already connected to Betty.
The three songs are fictional narratives rather than confirmed autobiographical accounts. Swift created imagined characters and story arcs for Folklore, so the characters should not automatically be identified with real people from her personal life.