"Yours Is No Disgrace" is a song by English progressive rock band Yes, which first appeared as the opening song of their 1971 album The Yes Album. It was written by all five members of the band: Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford. The song was also released as a single in some continental European countries such as Italy and the Netherlands. In Italy the song was divided between the A-side and B-side. In the Netherlands it was released as a maxi single, backed with "Your Move" and "Sweet Dreams". The song has been a regular feature of Yes' live shows. It has also appeared on many live and compilation albums, including Yessongs, Classic Yes and Yesstory. The opening track off The Yes Album, "Yours Is No Disgrace" clocks in at nearly ten minutes. According to Allmusic critic Dave Thompson, the length and complexity of "Yours Is No Disgrace" was tester for Yes' lengthy songs over their next few albums, most notably "And You and I," although he states that "at the time of release, however, it was unique – and, listened to in isolation today, it remains so." Lyrics According to Edward Macan, "Yours Is No Disgrace" "is generally recognized as Yes' first antiwar song" (though "Harold Land" from their debut album deals with the subject of war). Anderson has stated that the theme of the song was recognition that the kids fighting the war had no choice but to fight and that the war wasn't their fault. Author Bill Martin describes "Yours Is No Disgrace" as "a remarkable and subtle song about the Vietnam War." The lyrics make their point by contrasting the suffering of the soldiers in Vietnam with people partying in Las Vegas. The author Dave Thompson praises the line "On a sailing ship to nowhere" as "[conjuring] a mental image that the music cannot help but echo." The original words "armies gather near" (confirmed in every recorded live version) have been misprinted as "armies scatter the earth" numerous times, suggesting this may have been a mis-transcription in the first published version, as the album cover itself did not include lyrics. Composition The song begins with a staccato introduction, which builds tension right away. The introduction's main riff was contributed by Jon Anderson, and was the subject of an argument in the band since some of the other members thought it