"August" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the eighth track on her eighth studio album Folklore (2020), which was released on July 24, 2020. "August" was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, with additional production from Joe Alwyn. It is a dream pop and guitar pop ballad with guitars, strings, vocal reverberation, and key changes.
Alongside fellow tracks "Cardigan" and "Betty", "August" constitutes a fictitious love triangle involving three characters: Betty, James, and an unnamed female. The song is written from the latter's perspective, depicting her sorrow over her derailed summer romance with James, who abandoned her and reconciled with Betty. Swift, in her 2020 concert documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, said that she personally calls the unnamed narrator "Augustine" or "Augusta". Critics lauded the song's instrumentation and lyrics, with some of them picking it as a highlight on Folklore. In the United States, "August" peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. The song entered the top 20 on singles charts of Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and Singapore. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards on March 14, 2021, Swift performed it as part of a medley with "Cardigan" and "Willow", the lead single off of Folklore's sister record, Evermore (2020).