Metallica's “Don't Tread on Me” interpolates the melody of “America” in its opening.
The melody comes from “America,” the patriotic song composed by Leonard Bernstein for the musical West Side Story. It appears as a brief musical reference at the beginning of the Black Album track, creating a deliberate connection between the song's title, its imagery, and American patriotic symbolism.
“Don't Tread on Me” takes its title from the motto associated with the Gadsden flag, whose coiled snake also appears on the album cover. The song was issued to rock radio after the album's release, but it was not released as a commercial single.
The reference is often misidentified as “The Star-Spangled Banner” because both are strongly associated with the United States. The specific melody used here is Bernstein's “America,” not the U.S. national anthem.