Cardinals

This is just my interpretation on the music video, which is very symbolic and really gives insight on the true meaning of the song.

The MV for Cardinals, long story short, is a slow motion video of the lead singer carrying his friend to an ambulance. They're both soaking wet and his friend is unconscious, leading you to believe he's drowning and obviously needs medical help. The ambulance, however, keeps driving down the road with the back doors open and a paramedic screaming and gesturing at him to run faster. He can't run any faster. The ambulance becomes too fast and he stops running as the song ends, still clutching his friends in his arms with a defeated look on his face, obviously not being able to save him.

I feel like this is symbolic of a one-sided relationship. Whether it be romantic or platonic, we've all been a part of one. One person works harder than the other to keep it going, putting all their effort to make it work while the other doesn't care if this relationship lives or dies. The way Soupy carries his friend seems to be a metaphor for carrying someone through a relationship. They put no effort in so all the weight is put on your shoulders, therefore weighing you down and as that ambulance drives away (your last chance at making it work), you collapse and can't do it anymore. Powerful stuff.

To me, this is in the POV of someone in a relationship who put no effort in, therefore it ending. They say you don't know what you have until it's gone, so this is exactly what's happening. After separating, they realize the mistakes they've made and understood how toxic they were to the other person, but begging for forgiveness anyway.

In short, it sounds like an "I'm sorry, I've changed" to someone who gave up on them after a long time of getting nothing in return.