“Don't Tread on Me” includes an intro that interpolates Leonard Bernstein's melody from West Side Story.
The melody comes from “America,” a number Bernstein composed for the musical West Side Story. Metallica uses the recognizable phrase at the beginning of “Don't Tread on Me,” creating a striking contrast between the source's theatrical setting and the band's heavy arrangement.
The song's title refers to the Gadsden flag and its associated “Don't Tread on Me” motto. Its lyrics present a patriotic and defensive perspective, making it thematically different from several of the album's more personal or psychological songs.
Although “Don't Tread on Me” was played on rock radio after the album's release, it was not one of the five commercial singles officially issued to promote The Black Album. The song appears as the sixth track on the original album sequence.