Taylor Swift wrote the lyrics to “august” after Jack Antonoff sent her the instrumental.
According to the song’s creation history, Antonoff developed the instrumental first, and Swift wrote the lyrics quickly and intuitively after receiving it. The process reflects the remote, fast-moving songwriting environment surrounding Folklore during the pandemic.
Swift’s lyrics present the perspective of the unnamed person involved with James in the album’s teenage love-triangle concept. The narrator remembers a short-lived summer romance and recognizes that the relationship was never fully hers to keep.
A common misunderstanding is that Aaron Dessner wrote every major Folklore song. Dessner was one of the album’s principal collaborators, but “august” was written by Swift and Antonoff. Antonoff supplied the instrumental foundation and also co-produced the finished track.