The lyrics are told from the perspective of an unnamed female character, who yearns for the 17-year-old boy James; he abandons her after a brief summer romance and reconciles with his former lover Betty.

Music critics lauded the cinematic production and storytelling of "August", with some deeming it a highlight of Folklore and Swift's discography.

A seasonal success that resurges in popularity around August each year, the track peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Global 200 and in the top 40 of the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, and Singapore, and the United States.

"[6] Set in a suburban area with "salt air", "August" captures feelings of a teenage girl who goes through an unrequited love in the summer.

[7] As the summer romance progresses, the narrator is portrayed as unassertive and inexperienced, recalling the times when she "canceled my plans just in case you'd call".

Club, Annie Zaleski noted the song features "shivering" string instruments, keyboards, and minimal synthesizers, and "subtle splotchy grooves".

[38] At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards on March 14, 2021, Swift performed "August" as part of a medley with "Cardigan" and "Willow", the latter was taken from her album Evermore.

During the concerts, she sang the song and other Folklore tracks while dressing in a frilly gown that complements the album's cottagecore aesthetic.

[45][46] Valerie Magan from Clash remarked that the lyrics feel "vouyeristic, as we lean in to hear all the stories that 'innocent-era' Swift would've kept secret".

[20] Music journalist Jody Rosen, in a review for the Los Angeles Times, appreciated the shift from "pure first-person subjectivity" to fictional narratives.

Club's Annie Zaleski and Under the Radar's Caleb Campbell both selected the song as one of Folklore's best and compared the production to the music by Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins.

[18] The latter commented that the track serves as a testament to Swift's abilities of "writing the undeniably catchy hooks that make for a great pop song".

[50] While acknowledging Swift's indie reinvention on Folklore, Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes opined that "August", along with other songs produced by Antonoff, are not really radical transformations, however still display signs of maturity.

[51] On behalf on Consequence of Sound, Katie Moulton was somewhat disappointed that the song's theme is not far from Swift's trademark "pop-culture tropes", but found certain lyrics original enough to "refresh the clichés".

[52] The Observer's Kitty Empire was more reserved in her praise and said "August", although a solid song, did not expand beyond Swift's comfort zone.

"[58] Sheffield picked it among the best five songs of Swift's discography: " 'August' feels like such a simple tune, yet it's one of the craftiest creations in the Swiftian Multiverse.