Songfacts®:

• Disturbed's Divisive album was four years in the making, during which two of the band members' marriages broke down. Drummer Mike Wengren got divorced early in the pandemic and guitarist Dan Donegan went through a split in early 2022.
  
  This song is about a disintegrating relationship where each party struggles with letting go. It was inspired by the ending of Donegan's marriage.
  
  "That was a really personal one for me," Dan Donegan told Billboard. "During COVID-19, I was going through a divorce after 18 years of marriage. Part of that divorce process is that there was still a great deal of love we have for each other, and we couldn't imagine our lives without each other. Just that letting go, letting somebody go that you still love, but maybe the marriage just might not be working anymore... It was touching on that. It was just very personal."
• Donegan came up with the concept, then wrote the lyrics with Disturbed singer David Draiman. "I threw a few lines at him, and he took the ball and ran with it." Donegan said.
• "Don't Tell Me" is an epic emotionally charged duet between Draiman and Heart's Ann Wilson. The pair engage in a call-and-response that paves the way for a soaring harmony on the chorus.
• Wilson was already a fan of Disturbed's take on "The Sound of Silence," but it wasn't until Draiman and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson named her as their top pick for female vocalists on Twitter that the wheels of collaboration began turning. Wilson graciously acknowledged the shoutout, and Draiman reached out to her directly and suggested they work together someday.
  
  When Disturbed initially recorded "Don't Tell Me," Draiman sang on the entire track. Upon reflection, he recognized it would lend itself to Wilson's voice. "She jumped on the opportunity," Donegan told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station. "Immediately she responded, and we were, like, 'Holy s--t. She just said yes to this.'"
  
  "We tracked David's vocals in Nashville, and we wanted to make it easy and convenient for her, 'cause we were, like, she said yes, she's gonna do it," Donegan continued. "Let's make it as easy as possible on her.' We flew out to California to meet with her. We went into a studio out there for just a couple of hours, and she sang against David's tracks. And he was there kind of going over the harmonies with her and stuff too. So it was kind of a really magical moment to see the two of them working on those harmonies together."
• The song marks the first time Disturbed has included a guest feature on an album. "Early in our career, we wanted to really establish ourselves without having any guests. We didn't really talk about it much, but just [felt], 'This is the band.' Not that we were ever against it, but this far along in our career," explained Donegan. "We're always pushing ourselves, trying to do stuff that's different musically. And there's so much talent out there and so many people we would love to do collaborations with now or later in our career."
• Disturbed gave "Don't Tell Me" its live debut at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois on January 19, 2024. Moriah Formica of the opening band Plush replaced Ann Wilson as David Draiman's duet partner.