"Rise, Naianasha (Cut the Cord)"

Album Art by Chase Stone.

## Music Video

Official Visualizer on YouTube

**"Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the twelfth track on their upcoming album *Vaxis - Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind* and the album's second official single.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

Hell wakes you up choking and you feel so afraid

Help! Is this my place?

Searching to find what to say, am I okay?

The fear boy, you own it

Guilty, you find an angel in your arms

She's plucking her wings

She laughs while you go replace them

But there's something in your way

The mark that you missed, caution you throw

Lost in the dark, begging to go *(know)*

And I'm going to tell ya, tell all

There's a change of the guard

So you play your part

Assuming you know where to start

As pieces start coming apart

She'll stitch those wings to your heart

But it's not what you wanted

She looks deep into your eyes

She sees all your flaws

And pulls you together

Say what you want causе you are

Go on now, let heavеn know

The beautiful boy that you are

**[Chorus]**

Call me and I'll be there

When you need your great, your great destroyer

Oh my, baby boy

Don't you cry, it's you and I

In a do or die

Overboard

Now cut the cord

**[Verse 2]**

Remember that blank space

Where static invades

All that you've succumbed

A dead mind once trapped in a change

In the dissaving grace

As you live out all outcomes

The forever you want

Is the never you'll get when you learn

That you're going to be so alone

Oh when your mother and I go

But you've go to believe

You've got to be strong for her

**[Chorus]**

Call me and I'll be there

When you need your great, your great destroyer

Oh my, baby boy

Don't you cry, it's you and I

In a do or die

Overboard

Now cut the cord

**[Verse 3]**

Silence your tongue

Divide your lives, and gift us all your love

Your day has come

Open your mind, and do what must be done

**[Bridge]**

Call me and I'll be there

I'll be your great, your great destroyer

Oh my, baby boy

Don't you cry, it's you and I

Do or die

**[Chorus]**

Call me and I'll be there

When you need your great, your great destroyer

Oh my, baby boy

Don't you cry, it's you and I

In a do or die

Overboard

Now cut the cord

**[Outro]**

Over and out there

You'll meet your great *(I'm your great destroyer)*

Your great destroyer *(I'm your great destroyer)*

Oh my, baby boy

Don't you cry, it's you and I

In a do or die

Overboard

Now cut the cord

Cut the cord

Cut the cord

Cut the cord

## Music Visualizer

On November 10, 2021, when the single was officially released, a "visualizer" was released on the band's YouTube page. It was designed and produced by 351 Studio. The video is steeped in the world of Vaxis; featuring sci-fi space ships, aliens, hover crafts, and the like.

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## Story Context

This song again seems to be almost entirely from Vaxis's point-of-view. Verse 1 could be him becoming self-aware and finding that he can't function the way he wants to do to his condition. In the story, Vaxis is already 5 years old, but basically sits and stares out all day or sleeps. Most children are beginning to explore their environment and speak at age 2, if not before then. This song could be showing that Vaxis *wanted* to do those things, but couldn't. Additionally, we have been given many hints that a future, older Vaxis may be able to communicate with the past. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the line "The fear boy, you own it" is his older self talking to this younger version and telling him that things will be okay. Given the title of the song, the lines, "She's plucking her wings / She laughs while you go replace them" must refer to Naianasha. Perhaps this is a comforting glimpse into the future that awaits a younger Vaxis provided, again, by this older one who would know. The lines, "There's a change of the guard / So you play your part" are interesting as we have had a scene in which this occurs: the first chapter when Nia and Nos are breaking into the pharmaceutical company. Could this be showing us that Vaxis is aware of what is happening around him, he's just unable to convey that?

The chorus then may also be a mix-up of perceptions: "Call me and I'll be there / When you need your great, your great destroyer" may be from his older self; reassuring and ready to blast away any doubts about his future. While "Oh my, baby boy / Don't you cry, it's you and I / In a do or die / Overboard" may be his actual father speaking to him (reminiscent of "Blood"). With the last line, "Now cut the cord" being that adult self coming back into say "Don't get too attached."

Verse 2 brings us back to that inner voice... while the last two lines seem to cut in from Nos again. Verse 3 is a complete tone shift, leading it to seem as though a new speaker is in the mix. This could be the titular Naianasha. In the future, an older Vaxis may work closely with her in the same way Claudio Kilgannon worked alongside Ambellina. We even hear, at the end, the kind of building wailing heard in some of the "Willing Well" Song Suite.

Thus, this song may be more of a hint of things to come...

## Background

Sanchez said in a press release that the song "explores the reach of love and loyalty and the reality that sometimes you need to be more than a shoulder to lean on—you need to become the destroyer." This song was in the same vein as "Blood", as well, where it was geared toward Sanchez's son. "I'll always be there for for him, regardless of if I'm here or not," Sanchez said, "You're going to have me forever, and I'll do whatever I can to protect you."

## Trivia

* This song was actually discovered 20 days earlier, on Oct 21, through an error in coding on Pandora. As this was prior to the S.S. Neverender I, fans thought this would drop during the cruise as a treat for everyone, but didn't. Its actual drop was hinted at just two hours prior to the midnight release on social media; an ominous plain black square with the text "Rise at Midnight (EST)."
* Many fans believe Naianasha is Nia's full name, but this seems a bit unlikely (as Nia is spelt I-A where Naianasha is A-I). This theory also cannot be ruled out, however.
	+ In a Twitch stream on the release day, Sanchez said that the name is a real name; he had been in a Costco and a cashier had this name. He said that we would meet her (the character) or learn more about her in the next chapter (*Vaxis 2*).
	+ Given the context of the title, it could also be the name of a ship, a new character, a foreign word (like Shabutie, or perhaps an alien language), or a title (like King or Elder). Perhaps even the name of a star.

## References

1. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-rise-naianasha-cut-the-cord-lyrics
2. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *Vaxis - Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind*, Roadrunner Records, 2022.
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BFqmKtLj1s
4. ↑ https://www.loudersound.com/news/coheed-and-cambria-unveil-video-for-new-single-rise-naianasha-cut-the-cord
5. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFence/comments/vklxyl/claudios\_trackbytrack\_descriptions\_from\_allmusic/
6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFence/comments/qcjgbh/rise\_naianasha\_cut\_the\_cord/
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/Coheed/status/1458265922414678017
8. ↑ https://www.twitch.tv/claudiopsanchez