Which song on Metallica's The Black Album interpolates Leonard Bernstein's “America” melody?
Answer
Don't Tread on Me
“Don't Tread on Me” is the song on Metallica's The Black Album that interpolates Leonard Bernstein's “America” melody.
The reference appears in the song's introduction. Bernstein composed “America” for the musical West Side Story, where it became one of the production's best-known numbers. Metallica incorporated the recognizable melodic idea into a very different heavy-metal setting before moving into the song's main riff and vocal sections.
“Don't Tread on Me” takes its title from the phrase associated with the Gadsden flag and uses patriotic imagery in its lyrics. The song was issued to rock radio after the album's release, but it was not released as one of the album's commercial singles. That distinction separates it from “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.”
The interpolation is easy to miss because the melody appears briefly at the opening rather than as a repeated chorus. It is a musical quotation, not a cover version of Bernstein's song.