Who composed the melody sampled in the introduction to Metallica's “Don't Tread on Me”?

Leonard Bernstein composed the melody used in the introduction to Metallica's “Don't Tread on Me.”

The song's instrumental opening uses an eight-bar phrase from “America,” a song from the musical West Side Story. Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story, while Stephen Sondheim wrote its lyrics. Metallica's brief interpolation gives the track an immediately recognizable brass-band flavor before the main riff begins.

“Don't Tread on Me” also draws on American historical imagery. Its title is associated with the Gadsden flag, which features a rattlesnake, and the album cover itself includes a snake image. The lyrics refer to ideas connected with the American Revolution, including liberty and preparedness.

The Bernstein connection is sometimes mistaken for a songwriting credit on the entire Metallica track. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are credited as the song's composers, while the opening phrase is an interpolation of Bernstein's earlier composition.