Don't Tread on Me (Metallica song)
| "Don't Tread on Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Metallica | ||||
| from the album Metallica | ||||
| Released | August 29, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | October 1990 - June 1991 at One on One Recording, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 3:59 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Writer(s) | James Hetfield / Lars Ulrich | |||
| Producer | Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | |||
| Metallica singles chronology | ||||
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"Don't Tread on Me" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica, from the eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The title is connected with the American Revolutionary War. The words "Don't Tread on Me" constitute the motto of the Gadsden flag, and the snake image on the flag is pictured on the cover of the album.
The instrumental introduction uses the famous eight bar phrase from "America", a popular song from the musical and film West Side Story. The lyrics also feature a reference to American Revolutionary Patrick Henry's famous quote "give me liberty or give me death" with the line "liberty or death, what we so proudly hail".
Hetfield said the song was a reaction to the anti-American tone of their album ...And Justice for All - "This is the other side of that. America is a fucking good place. I definitely think that. And that feeling came about from touring a lot. You find out what you like about certain places and you find out why you live in America, even with all the bad fucked-up shit. It's still the most happening place to hang out.[1]
The song has never been performed live by the band[2], though it's going to be performed, along all other songs from the Black Album during the 2012 Sonisphere Festivals[3]. One possible reason is James Hetfield's particular dislike for the song, as revealed in an April 2001 interview with Playboy magazine, where Hetfield stated: "There are some songs on there I don't like. 'Don't Tread on Me', probably not one of my favorite songs musically."[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Fricke, David (November 14, 1991). "Metallica". Rolling Stone (617). Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090321082148/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/21395583/metallica/1.
- ^ "AllMetallica song info page". http://www.allmetallica.com/info/songinfo/tread.php. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
- ^ "Sonisphere Festivals International Hub 2012". http://www.sonispherefestivals.com/. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
- ^ "Playboy April 2001 interview transcript". Archived from the original on Dec 05, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071205015546/http://geocities.com/hetfieldinter/metplayboy8.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
