And remember that at the top of the [SELECT page](https://www.sqlite.org/lang_select.html) it states: Note that there are paths through the syntax diagrams that are not allowed in practice. Some examples: * A VALUES clause can be the first element in a compound SELECT that uses a WITH clause, but a simple SELECT that consists of just a VALUES clause cannot be preceded by a WITH clause. * The WITH clause must occur on the first SELECT of a compound SELECT. It cannot follow a compound-operator. These and other similar syntax restrictions are described in the text.