Which Metallica song on The Black Album uses an eight-bar phrase from West Side Story's “America”?
Answer
Don't Tread on Me
“Don't Tread on Me” uses an eight-bar phrase from “America,” a song from the musical West Side Story.
The borrowed material appears in the instrumental introduction. “America” was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and became one of West Side Story's best-known musical numbers.
Metallica's song connects the musical quotation to American Revolutionary imagery. Its title is the motto associated with the Gadsden flag, whose snake also appears in stylized form on The Black Album's cover. The lyrics additionally reference Patrick Henry's famous liberty quotation.
“Don't Tread on Me” was issued to rock radio as a promotional single after the album's release, but it did not receive a commercial single release. That distinction separates it from the album's five commercial singles.