Taylor Swift wrote “august” first among Folklore’s “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty” trio.
The three songs present a fictional love triangle from different perspectives. “cardigan” is associated with Betty, “betty” with James, and “august” with the unnamed young woman involved in the summer romance. Swift developed the connected narrative as part of Folklore’s imagined characters and story arcs.
Writing “august” first does not mean it appears first on the album. The standard Folklore track list begins with “the 1,” while “august” appears later. It also does not mean the song was released before the other two: all three arrived together with the album on July 24, 2020.
The trio is often called Folklore’s love-triangle trilogy, though the songs are individual tracks rather than a separately released project.