Taylor Swift’s song “betty” presents James’s viewpoint in the Folklore story connected to “august.”
The three-song narrative centers on James, Betty, and the unnamed girl who narrates “august.” “betty” portrays James reflecting on his actions and attempting to repair his relationship with Betty, while “august” focuses on the summer romance from the other girl’s perspective.
“cardigan” completes the narrative from Betty’s side. The songs are not arranged as a conventional soundtrack or officially titled as a trilogy, but Swift explained that they explore the same fictional love triangle through different narrators.
Some listeners assume “august” is narrated by Betty because the song is often discussed alongside “cardigan.” The narrators are distinct: “betty” belongs to James, “cardigan” belongs to Betty, and “august” belongs to the unnamed summer-romance character.