Taylor Swift’s folklore album released in 2020 in the midst of COVID-19 was unlike anything she has ever released before. The entire album is a fictional story, having little resemblance to her personal life, but is filled with intimate conversation and revelations, and revealed a new side to Taylor’s diverse vocals: perfectly fit for folk music . 

The basis of the album surrounds 3 teenagers who are in a love triangle. Augustine, James, and Betty. Each person has a song from their perspective recalling the accounts of the love triangle; these songs are known as the “folklore trilogy”. 

 

Let me break this down for you. 

Webegin at the doorstep of Betty’s house, where James has come to beg for her forgiveness after making the worst mistake of his life. Summer has come to an end, and James shows up to Betty’s back to school party to explain himself for cheating on her, using his immaturity as his excuse.

 

I was walking home on broken cobblestones

Just thinking of you when she pulled up like

A figment of my worst intentions

She said “James, get in, let’s drive”

Those days turned into nights

Slept next to her, but

I dreamt of you all summer long

 

As James was walking home, “she” pulled up and told him to go with her. He spent the summer with this girl and eventually, Betty hears from her friend Inez that James cheated on her. 

 

This song is when James confirms the rumors and asks her if she’ll ever forgive him. He tries to convince her that despite all the time he spent with this other girl, he was thinking of Betty the whole time. He repeatedly states “I’m only 17, I don’t know anything, But I know I miss you”. 

This is a shift from Taylor’s usual writing, as we see the perspective of a teenage boy who truly doesn’t know how to undo such a big mistake. This perspective truly elevates the storytelling of this album. 

 

We continue with Betty’s perspective in the song cardigan. 

Taylor explains in Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions that cardigan is Betty’s perspective from 20 years later, looking back. This reveals that the most heart wrenching song on the album is about lessons and longing sadness in her reflection on her relationship with James. 

 I could go on for hours discussing every single line of this long, but here are some of my favorites. 

When you are young, they assume you know nothin’

This line is repeated over and over again in the song, a parallel to James’ lyric “I’m only 17, I don’t know anything”. As Betty reflects on her relationship with James, she realizes that James’ excuse was that he was just an immature teenager. 

To kiss in cars and downtown bars

Was all we needed

You drew stars around my scars

But now I’m bleedin’

What was good for a while turned into more hurt than ever before. The simple things, like kissing in cars, is what made their relationship so beautiful. But, as we saw from James’ perspective, that wasn’t something that was special to just Betty, as the other girl pulled up to James and said “get in”. This made it something she did not have to herself, another thing she had to share. 

I knew you

Tried to change the ending

Peter losing Wendy

This line is incredibly important. Cheating was obviously James’ fault, but by coming to the party and asking for h

er forgiveness in front of all of her friends, he was made out to be a sweet guy, someone worthy of a second chance. If Betty didn’t forgive him now, she would be made out to be the bad guy. James “tried to change the ending” of the situation by making himself look nice even though she got hurt. Looking back, she sees that he tried to turn it around. Peter losing Wendy refers to losing the best thing in his life. 

Finally, the view of the “other girl”, Augustine. In the song august, we see the perspective of the “other girl” who was made out to be the more rebellious and hurtful side of the triangle and of James. After listening to cardigan, it may seem that Augustine had everything Betty didn’t, when in reality, August wanted what Betty had. Augustine just wanted to feel special. 

 

I remember thinkin’ I had you

Augustine truly thought that whatever they had was real, but he still loved Betty. She was seen as the “other girl” when she simply thought James loved her back. 

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

Here we see Augustine trying to find any excuse to see James, waiting for that ounce of attention. Even the halfhearted dedication he showed is enough for her. This poor girl cared for James and just wanted him to care for her too. 

 

Overall, this complicated and multifaceted love triangle has so many different perspectives and storylines attached to it. While I can go on and on about these three songs and how the rest of the album discusses more of this storyline, I’m going to end it here. Taylor Swift has written true emotion and love into her music, and I highly recommend that you give this album a listen.