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Don't tread on me!
Say, don't tread on me!
Liberty or death,
what we so proudly hail.
Once you provoke her,
Rattling of her tail.
Never Begins it,
never, but once engaged.
Never surrenders,
showing the fangs of rage.
Say don't tread on me.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear ever more.
Don't tread on me.
Love it or leave it,
She with the deadly bite.
Quick is the blue tongue,
forked as the lightning strike.
Shining with brightness,
always on surveillance.
(The eyes, they never close)
Emblem of Vigilance.
Oooh, no,no,no
Say, don't tread on me.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear evermore.
Don't tread on me!
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
Liberty or death,
what we so proudly hail.
Once you provoke her,
rattling of her tail.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear evermore.
Don't tread on me!
Say, don't tread on me!
Liberty or death,
what we so proudly hail.
Once you provoke her,
Rattling of her tail.
Never Begins it,
never, but once engaged.
Never surrenders,
showing the fangs of rage.
Say don't tread on me.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear ever more.
Don't tread on me.
Love it or leave it,
She with the deadly bite.
Quick is the blue tongue,
forked as the lightning strike.
Shining with brightness,
always on surveillance.
(The eyes, they never close)
Emblem of Vigilance.
Oooh, no,no,no
Say, don't tread on me.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear evermore.
Don't tread on me!
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
Liberty or death,
what we so proudly hail.
Once you provoke her,
rattling of her tail.
So be it.
Threaten no more.
To secure peace is
to prepare for war.
So be it.
Settle the score.
Touch me again with the words that you will hear evermore.
Don't tread on me!
Lyrics submitted by King Nothing, edited by Saint Arkham
Track duration: 04:01
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So the song meanings of ...And Justice for All and of Don't Tread on Me don't have to be mutually exclusive. You can think that something is a lost cause but still see some good in it. And around the time this song came out, there was a lot of turbulence going on in world affairs with America right in the middle (things don't change much, do they?). So he was saying that while America isn't perfect, its still a place to be proud of...
He also said, about ten years later (also according to the wikipedia page):
"There are some songs on there I don't like. 'Don't Tread on Me', probably not one of my favorite songs musically."
This is in reference to why the song has never been played live by the band. I think it's one of few good songs on the Black Album.
Basically, I can see why a lot of people would think the lyrics here are tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic, but I think he was just using genuine Revolutionary-era rhetoric (paraphrasing Franklin's essay as some have mentioned) to describe a country that he finds has some flaws but still kicks ass!
SO of course youll all now the meaning of this song is in . i think the first or second line. Oh third.
It's about libert or death, 'don't tread on me' is basically Hetfield saying FUCK OFF to someone, 'never begins it, never,but once engaged' prolly hast to be bout a female never is as if someone were saying no to an idea it repeats cuz someone has a problem with it as in 'never?' like 'yah fucking never fag'(jk) then 'but once engaged' shows how this is a person who wont STFU about the topic even if you were joking about its mention in the first place.(Feel free to tell me if im over-ANALyzing anything dudeskies)The chorus is actually just the same idea as this- nothing going to stop a persons negativity so, you must fight and to bad to live good.
Next stanza w/ 'love it or leave it' again someones negativity to an idea ( any kind ) and this 'she -snake' i guess, having a problem with a whiner complaining the rest of that stanza is describing this 'quick tongue' how its always watching and powerful. Goes on with chorus again. Pretty much just about enjoying the things and life to avoid being negative, because there may be a METALLI-snake like character around, just to 'adjust' your ill perception on life.
this 'less likely' chance is not a 'never' as the song suggests with characterisation of the snake metaphor...the single time the snake (or the american military) loses a battle, it dies because it 'never surrenders'.
so logically, one would infer that such a statement would be that the egotism and exaggerated self-opinion of the american military will be its downfall, dragging the whole country with it.
this 'less likely' chance is not a 'never' as the song suggests with characterisation of the snake metaphor...the single time the snake (or the american military) loses a battle, it dies because it 'never surrenders'.
so logically, one would infer that such a statement would be that the egotism and exaggerated self-opinion of the american military will be its downfall, dragging the whole country with it.
There's an old Latin adage, "si vis pacem, para bellum" which means, "if you wish for peace, prepare for war."
The source of this adage is generally believed to be based on the writings of Vegitius (a Roman military writer circa 390 AD), "igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." It is contained in a passage that means, "Therefore, he who wishes peace, should prepare war; he who desires victory, should carefully train his soldiers; he who wants favorable results, should fight relying on skill, not on chance."
In common terms, it means peace through strength - a strong society is less likely to be attacked by enemies.
this song, in the context of the album is satirical. yllas is right.
anyone who thinks it is patriotic is evidently a simple victim of the cointelpro, persuaded so easily by government propaganda and i pity your poor, undeveloped brain.
still don't believe me? well...
1) the use of the statement "don't tread on me" in its historical and political context was that it was used by people fighting for liberty, but my intellectually unarmed opposition fail to see is its actual meaning behind all interpretation from political figures of the time. it means that our (from the view point of whoever the person speaking is) government will not be ruled by a mediator (ie. king or queen). it does not in any way suggest strength in the military or does it represent patriotism or national pride, merely dissent in the form of a threat against the monarchy who would strive to opress and hold their empire under control. THUS, IT IS AGAINST THE MONARCHY BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN SUPPORT OF PATRIOTISM as i will go on to point out.
2) 'to secure peace is to prepare for war', a line from the chorus of the song which is intended to convey the underlying idea of the song. anyone who knows basic literary techniques will know that this is an oxymoron and when put into practice, a paradox. it points out the lack of basic thought process in the american military. to simplify it for those of you lacking such basic thought processes: war is not peace, so creating peace through war is just plain stupid. hence, QUESTIONING PATRIOTIC VALUES BY PUTTING FORWARD A POINT AGAINST THE MIITARY WHOM THE PATRIOTS LOVE SO MUCH.
3) the intention of political statements in this album, this song included, and '...and justice for all' is with cynicism, dripping in satire. it is extremely unlikely that metallica would write a song which contradicts every other on their past few albums, thus, it is indicative of sarcasm and satire being present. take yllas' point about the westside story motif occurring in the introduction showing how idealised views of america can be treated with such cynicism - and for anyone who knows their shit about the musical, the cynics (the men) put forward some very good points. also, the lyrics if taken in a non-satirical manner would be contradictory to those i used as evidence in my second point, thus it is only seen fit that ANY STATEMENTS MADE AS IF FROM THE PERSONA OF FIGHTERS FOR LIBERATION ARE SATIRISED (yes, we spell it with an 's' not a 'z' in australia)
in conclusion, it is not necessarily anti-american, nor is it in support of them.
rather, it is against patriotism and jingoism. infact, to make my point even more concrete, this has been criticized for its jingoistic lyrics, and to this criticism the drummer Lars Ulrich, after looking up the word had said "it pissed me off!'
"Pennsylvania Journal under the pseudonym American Guesser in which he suggested that the rattlesnake was a good symbol for the American spirit:
'I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids—She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.—She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.—As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?' "
wikipedia
for more check out Seewa's and Adeori's comments i will not add anymore then the quoted essay because the got it right first, why take away from them?