Taylor Swift’s “cardigan” tells the Folklore love-triangle story from Betty’s perspective.
The three connected songs are “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty.” “cardigan” presents Betty looking back on her relationship with James, “betty” presents James addressing his actions, and “august” presents the unnamed girl involved in the summer romance.
Swift created the narrative as a fictional set of characters and story arcs rather than a straightforward autobiography. That framing is important because listeners often try to identify real people behind the songs, even though the characters were developed as part of Folklore’s imaginative world.
The title “cardigan” can also cause confusion because it is the song’s name, while “betty” is the title of another song in the same narrative. Their perspectives, not merely their titles, distinguish their roles in the trilogy.