User:TheCartoonEditor/sandbox/August (Taylor Swift song)

Former userspace draft. See August (Taylor Swift song).

"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, which was released on July 24, 2020, through Republic Records. "August" was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff.

Background and release
"'The sun drenched month of August, sipped away like a bottle of wine.'"

In early 2020, during the writing of what would become Folklore, Swift had an idea to write a collection of three songs known now as the "Teenage Love Triangle", consisting of "Cardigan", "August" and "Betty". Swift later talked about the Teenage Love Triangle in the YouTube live chat of the music video premiere of "Cardigan".

On July 23, 2020, Swift announced the release of Folklore, where "August" was placed as the eighth track.

Composition
"August" is a gloomy pop rock and dream pop track written in the first-person perspective. Lyrically, the song is about a summer affair between two lovers: the unnamed protagonist of the song, and James, a seventeen-year-old boy who is mentioned in the track, who later in the album is revealed to be the protagonist of "Betty". Musically, the song is set in the key of F major with a moderate tempo of 90 beats per minute (BPM). Swift's vocals range from F3 to C5.

Critical reception
Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen called "August" the "[perfect slot] into the dream-pop genre," with its "shimmering vocal reverb over a calming aural blanket" and noted that "Swift's knack for catchy melodies and perfectly-timed key changes persevere." The Rolling Stone described "August" as the album's "most plainly beautiful ballad", referring to it as the first song in a "trilogy of heavy hitters", including "This Is Me Trying" and "Illicit Affairs".

Insider's Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca expressed "August" as "one of the best songs in Swift's extensive repertoire." Ahlgrim went on to say that "August" is "exquisite. It's lush and layered without feeling overwhelming at any point. It builds to the perfect level then recedes, like a wave."

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.


 * Taylor Swift – songwriting, production
 * Jack Antonoff – songwriting, production, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming, record engineering
 * Evan Smith – electric guitar, flute, keyboards, saxophone
 * Bobby Hawk – strings
 * Randy Merril – master engineering
 * Jonathan Low – mixing, synth bass
 * Jon Gautier – record engineering
 * Laura Sisk – record engineering
 * Mike Williams – record engineering