As July draws to a close, the salt-air season is slowly setting in. Whether you’re a new Swiftie or not, you likely knowTaylor Swifthas masterminded (or perhaps inadvertently ignited) a slew of traditions among her fans. Whether it’s the number 13, the track 5s, friendship bracelets, city names during “Blank Space,” or the Fearless heart hand gesture, the “Cruel Summer” singer has truly carved out a culture that is entirely unique to herself and her millions of fans. But with oneFolkloretrack, Swift has sparked a special tradition where Swifties collectively celebrate each year to mourn a fictional summer romance that never actually happened.The song in question is “August,” a dreamy, atmospheric trackabout a girl clinging to the “hope of it all.”
It’s safe to say thatFolklorehas left a significant mark on Swift’s legacy,making it arguably one of her best works to date. The record earned widespread praise, especially for Swift, who has once again proven her unmistakable songwriting abilities. Known for her confessional and deeply personal brand of storytelling, the singer took an artistic shift and crafted an album from a perspective she hadn’t personally experienced; thus, the album’s title. It features some of thefan-favorite trackslike “August,” which is part of the album’s teenage love trilogy. What began as a melancholic, dreamy ballad has since blossomed into an annual tradition, with fans welcoming the eighth month by blasting “August” in what feels like a collective wave of nostalgia.
The Story Behind Taylor Swift’s “August”
AsFolklorecontinues to age like, dare we say it, a finebottle of wine, “August” feels like a memory none of us lived, yet all seem to remember. That nostalgic feeling was established early on in the album, with “Seven” — appropriately placed as the seventh track — setting the stage for “August,” where Swift sings about a love affair that was always destined to fall apart. The song’s hazy production is, of course, lauded for its ability to transport listeners back to a fleeting moment in time, especially a relationship that was never meant to last. “August” is about a fictional girl Swift named Augustine, the song’s narrator, who’s entangled in a relationship with a boy who was never hers to lose. The chorus goes: “But I can see us lost in the memory / August slipped away into a moment in time / ‘Cause it was never mine.”
While the earlier moments of the song already convey a strong feeling of longing and regret, it is in the bridge where it finds its emotional peak. It’s where Augustine, who earlier acknowledged how August slipped away too soon, recalls canceling plans, presumably ditching her friends for a boy who was already committed to someone else. During that time, she settles for the bare minimum. She clings to whatever scraps of love she can get. “Back when we were still changin’ for the better / Wanting was enough / For me, it was enough / To live for the hope of it all / Cancel plans just in case you’d call / And say, “Meet me behind the mall” / So much for summer love and saying “us” / ‘Cause you weren’t mine to lose.”
17 Years Ago, Taylor Swift Released the One Song She Didn’t Write Herself
“Little taste of heaven.”
The Teenage Love Triangle in Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Explained
Folklorehas no bad songs — and we stand by that claim. The album offers the wistful “The 1,” the biographical “The Last Great American Dynasty,” the chilling “My Tears Ricochet,” the empowering “Mad Woman,” and so much more. It’s also the album where Swift tells the story of a love triangle from three different perspectives. The central character of the trilogy was Betty, the wronged one. The song “Betty,” in which the narrator was James, recounts the boy’s attempt to win Betty back after he cheated on her with Augustine (yes,that Augustine)during the summer. And then Betty’s perspective is highlighted in “Cardigan,” where she reminisces about the boy who “drew scars around [her] stars.” And finally, “August,” which tells the perspective of Augustine, who only ever wanted love.
In herFolklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessionsdocumentary, Swift explains how the trilogy came about: “What happened in my head was, ‘Cardigan’ is Betty’s perspective from 20 to 30 years later, looking back on this love that was this tumultuous thing. In my head, I think Betty and James ended up together. So, in my head, she ends up with him, but he really put her through it… ‘August’ was about the girl that James had this summer with. She seems like she’s a bad girl, but really she’s not. She’s a sensitive person who really fell for him, she was trying to seem cool and seem like she didn’t care… but she really did, and she thought they had something really real… and then he goes back to Betty. So, the idea that there’s some bad, villain girl in any type of situation who takes your man is actually a total myth, because that’s not usually the case at all. Everybody has feelings, everybody wants to be seen and loved, and all Augustine wanted was love.”
