Which musical’s “America” is interpolated in Metallica’s “Don’t Tread on Me”?

Metallica’s “Don’t Tread on Me” interpolates “America” from the musical West Side Story.

The connection appears in the song’s introduction, which uses part of the melody associated with “America.” Leonard Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, while Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics. Metallica’s track then moves into its own heavy-metal arrangement and patriotic imagery.

“Don’t Tread on Me” is the sixth track on Metallica’s 1991 album. It was released as a promotional single rather than one of the album’s principal commercial singles, which included “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.”

The musical reference can be easy to miss because it appears at the opening rather than forming the main structure of the song. It also differs from a cover version: Metallica did not record the complete “America,” but incorporated its melody into an original composition.