Opmerkelijk subtiele en genuanceerde visie van Yes op de oorlog in Vietnam. Niet dat die oorlog wordt goedgekeurd – integendeel – maar de verantwoordelijkheid wordt gelegd bij de politici die de jonge soldaten naar het slagveld sturen. Misschien is Yours Is No Disgrace ook wel een antwoord op Buffy Sainte Marie’s Universal Soldier dat de verantwoordelijkheid legt bij de individuen die de orders uitvoeren. Ze mogen het dan misschien niet willen doen, maar ze doen het uiteindelijk wel: “He’s the Universal Soldier/And he really is to blame/His orders come from far away no more/They come from here and there and you and me”.
[Verse 1]
Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar’s Palace, morning glory, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no disgrace
[Verse 2]
Battleships confide in me and tell me where you are
Shining, flying, purple wolfhound, show me where you are
Lost in summer, born in winter, travel very far
Lost in losing circumstances, that’s just where you are
[Verse 1]
Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar’s Palace, morning glory, silly human, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no, yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
[Bridge]
Death defying, mutilated armies gather near
Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals, their morals disappear
[Verse 1]
Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Caesar’s Palace, morning glory, silly human, silly human, silly human race
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
If the summer changed to winter, yours is no, yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
Yours is no disgrace
[Verse 2]
Battleships confide in me and tell me where you are
Shining, flying, purple wolfhound, show me where you are
Lost in summer, born in winter, travel very far
Lost in losing circumstances, that’s just where you are
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By US Marine Corps /PFC G. Durbin – NARA, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2509812
