Obviously the song is about Kanye, what with certain references made and the way it was performed at the VMAs (using the video of the incident), however the lyrical meaning can be far expanded beyond "Kanye interrupted me and it sucked but now I forgive him". I see it as an empowering song that essentially says, "Everyone screws up, but there's always time to change". These lyrics, to me, are the best example of that:
"Time turns flames to embers
You'll have new Septembers
Every one of us has messed up too
Minds change like the weather
I hope you remember
Today is never too late to be brand new."
I agree with rskid14's interpretation of "time turns flames to embers", but I want to add something else. I also think it might be talking about a rush of emotion and how you realize your mistakes after the fact. The flames represent strong, uncontrolled anger or other emotions, but with time those feelings fade and everything clears up, and you can truly see the situation. In the end, time lets you look at things differently and realize how foolish your actions were.
"Lost your balance on a tight rope
It's never too late to get it back"
I think this is about Kanye's already kinda rocky public image. He was known for being an asshole before this, so he was already "walking a tightrope" with his public image when the emotional "flames" forced him to lose his composure (balance). Taylor's saying that he can always fix this.
Finally, I think the "innocent" lines simply say that he's not done anything yet unforgivable, and that there's always potential to fix things.
Obviously the song is about Kanye, what with certain references made and the way it was performed at the VMAs (using the video of the incident), however the lyrical meaning can be far expanded beyond "Kanye interrupted me and it sucked but now I forgive him". I see it as an empowering song that essentially says, "Everyone screws up, but there's always time to change". These lyrics, to me, are the best example of that:
"Time turns flames to embers You'll have new Septembers Every one of us has messed up too Minds change like the weather I hope you remember Today is never too late to be brand new."
I agree with rskid14's interpretation of "time turns flames to embers", but I want to add something else. I also think it might be talking about a rush of emotion and how you realize your mistakes after the fact. The flames represent strong, uncontrolled anger or other emotions, but with time those feelings fade and everything clears up, and you can truly see the situation. In the end, time lets you look at things differently and realize how foolish your actions were.
"Lost your balance on a tight rope It's never too late to get it back"
I think this is about Kanye's already kinda rocky public image. He was known for being an asshole before this, so he was already "walking a tightrope" with his public image when the emotional "flames" forced him to lose his composure (balance). Taylor's saying that he can always fix this.
Finally, I think the "innocent" lines simply say that he's not done anything yet unforgivable, and that there's always potential to fix things.