Which three Taylor Swift songs form Folklore’s teenage love-triangle storyline with “august”?

The story behind the answer

Taylor Swift’s Folklore love-triangle storyline consists of “Cardigan,” “august,” and “Betty.” The three songs portray connected events involving Betty, James, and the unnamed young woman who narrates “august.”

Each track uses a different viewpoint. “Cardigan” centers on Betty, “Betty” presents James’s perspective, and “august” follows the girl who has a summer romance with James. Together, they show how one relationship can be remembered differently by the people involved.

The songs are fictional rather than straightforward diary entries. Swift described Folklore as a project built from imagined story arcs and characters, allowing her to write beyond the autobiographical approach associated with some of her earlier work.

A frequent mistake is adding “Illicit Affairs” or “The 1” to the trilogy because both songs also appear on Folklore and involve relationships. They are separate tracks. The recognized three-song narrative is specifically “Cardigan,” “august,” and “Betty.”

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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