Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan” shares the Folklore love-triangle story from Betty’s perspective.
The narrative links “Cardigan,” “august,” and “Betty.” “august” follows the unnamed girl during her summer relationship with James, while “Betty” presents James’s side of the story. “Cardigan” is associated with Betty, who later reconnects with James.
This structure was unusual for Swift because the songs use fictional characters and imagined story arcs rather than functioning mainly as autobiographical confessionals. The linked tracks invite listeners to compare how each character remembers the same emotional history.
A frequent mistake is answering “Betty,” because that song is also part of the trilogy. However, “Betty” is the James-perspective song; “Cardigan” is the track connected to Betty’s viewpoint. All three songs appear on Folklore.