Cardinals

The singer seems to be talking about someone he has known for a long time. Since at least seven years old. Either an actual brother or a friend close enough to be considered one.

"Cardinal crashed into my window... on the glass was a better life" His friend tried to get close to him, maybe hang out a lot, stay the night all the time, etc. because he had a shit life and saw that the singer's life was better than his.

"Staring at a hole in your chest that's been dug there for decades. American broken promises." - The American dream to live in a nice house with a happy family etc. is not the life his friend was living.

"Caught between the lies you've been fed and a war with your bloodstream."- Either talking about family that is cruel to him and has been lying to him or possibly the lying family as well as drugs.

"I had that nightmare again - you're seven and helpless, Angry as hell and you balled up your fists. But I laughed at your swings and I beat you half-conscious. I know that I failed you. Woke up in a sweat." - Might be dreaming about an actual event or metaphorically speaking to the fact that his friend was clearly angry and hurting, seeking help and he ignored him and all it did was make things worse "laughed at your swings and I beat you half conscious"

Boog

I'm pretty sure this song is about a friend that overdosed.

The intro "cardinal crashed into my window" meeting this friend.

"I know what he saw in that reflection of light on the glass was a better life" the friend imagining how his life could've been better.

Verse 1 is about how his friend was trying to make something out of his life but kept failing

"A war with your bloodstream" this is the give away line for the friends drug use

Prechorus is about how the writer wasn't there for his friend when he should've been which may have led to the downfall of their friendship since the chorus "if you call me back or let me in I swear I'll never let you down again" sounds like the writer is trying to gain his friends trust back "I know the devil you've been fighting with" this is where the writer is saying he knows his friend is battling addiction

Verse two I think is about how the friend had a rough upbringing that included him being abused as a child. How the writer knew this and had a dream about it.

The bridge "we're no saviors if we can't save our brothers", the writer is down on himself for not being there to save his friend from an overdose.

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.