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James, Betty and Agustine... The love triangle behind Folklore
Mirror Balls, Autumn, and cardigans: This is the vivid definition of Folklore. Folklore is Mrs. Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album, released on July 24th, 2020. In my personal opinion, among all of her albums (including the -not- Taylor versions) is the saddest one. With hints of melancholy and a well-written plot, Folklore is the perfect album to sit down, grab a cup of tea and think why you weren’t the one.
It is well known that Taylor Swift is a mastermind if we are talking about writing songs. Truly, she doesn't only write songs, she creates stories. Certainly, Folklore isn’t an exception. Yet, what inspired her? During the pandemic and isolation, Taylor relied on her favorite thing: writing. While writing Folklore the only thing she did was letting her emotions flow to escape from the chaotic mess the pandemic was for her. Certainly, her way of therapy worked, because it led her to win her 11th Grammy.
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Taylor Fans were still singing Lover, her album that was released in 2019. Evidently, they were not expecting Folklore almost one year after. Taylor specializes in giving hidden messages about what she is working on. However, she decided to keep Folklore secret and on July 24th, 2020, with no previous promotion, only a post on her Instagram, released it. But not only that, but only 5 months later Evermore, her 9th album was released, yet that's another story.
Everything about Folklore is an enigma. But what takes the most attention is the love triangle behind it. When you listen to the album and actually try to comprehend the lyrics, you will realize Taylor is telling a whole plotline. Betty is James' girlfriend and as the saying goes, opposites attract. Betty loves crowds and is the social butterfly of her school… James, on the other hand, is the contrary. Betty proposes to James to go to the prom together, but James' instant answer is no because of his social anxiety.
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On Prom day Betty was comfortable and thought everything was going as she planned. Since Betty was alone, a handsome boy invited her to dance. At the exact moment Betty and the mysterious boy were dancing, James arrived. He had decided that he would put aside his feelings for crowds and make an effort for his girlfriend. The first feeling that James felt was jealousy, he was jealous about the boy who got to dance with her girlfriend, and jealous that he wasn’t anxious about crowds. While James was feeling betrayed, Augustine, a girl going in the same grade, pulled up to comfort him. What James and Augustine never thought was that they would end up in a summer love.
The song “Betty,” is James' perspective of the situation. In which he describes how his summer love was not what he was expecting. “Those days turned into nights, slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long.” These were the words used by Taylor to describe how James felt that Augustine was the other woman, and Betty the one he wanted. Illicit Affairs Is Augustine’s point of view. “What starts in beautiful rooms, ends with meeting in parking lots” Is the way the song tells that being the other woman at first may seem fun and pretty, however, you end up hurt.
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Back in class after the long summer, Inez, Betty's classmate, tells her that James and Augustine were in a relationship; nevertheless, they had broken up. This causes Betty to change all her classes to avoid James. “Betty I won’t make assumptions on why you switch your homeroom but I think it is because of me,” is James' feelings on Betty’s actions, described in the song Betty. Despite this, James keeps insisting on Betty and decides to ask forgiveness at Betty’s party. It is not clear if she takes him back, but it seems like she did not, because in cardigan, from Betty's perspective, she said “you drew stars around my scars, and now I’m Bleeding.”
Augustine ends up feeling used, she gave everything of her to James, and she lied to everyone, just to end up heartbroken. “August slipped away like a bottle of wine, cause you were never wine,” and “Will you call when you are back at school” are the references in August, Augustine’s perspective, in which she narrates how she believed she was the one. Finally, each character is left heartbroken, because they committed a mistake. Augustine hitting on someone in a relationship, Betty dancing with another boy while having a couple, (which I do not find as a mistake), and James cheating.
Folklore, in my opinion, is a masterpiece. I never get tired of it, because I am constantly finding new hints of the love triangle. Once you understand the lyrics, it is easy to understand the characters and relate to their songs.