Taylor Swift wrote “august” first among the “august,” “cardigan,” and “betty” trilogy.
The three Folklore songs were designed to explore one fictional love triangle from different viewpoints. “august” follows the unnamed girl involved with James, “cardigan” centers on Betty, and “betty” gives James's account.
Swift's writing order is notable because the album's track sequencing does not necessarily reveal the order in which the songs were created. She began with “august,” then developed the connected perspectives that became “cardigan” and “betty.”
Fans sometimes treat “cardigan” as the starting point because it was Folklore's lead single and had a major music video. That distinction concerns the album's promotional rollout, not the order of composition. The first-written song in the narrative trio was “august.”