Taylor Swift’s “cardigan” gives the other female perspective in the folklore love triangle connected with “august.”
The three-song storyline uses “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty” to present different viewpoints. “cardigan” is associated with Betty, “betty” is associated with James, and “august” is voiced by the unnamed girl involved in a summer relationship with James. The songs do not form a conventional chronological plot in every detail; instead, they use overlapping memories and emotional perspectives.
A frequent mistake is to call “august” a duet or to assume that its title names the narrator. It is a solo Taylor Swift recording, while “cardigan” is the song most directly linked to Betty’s perspective. Swift introduced these characters as part of folklore’s fictional storytelling rather than as confirmed portraits of real people.