Songfacts®:

• This gritty predatory rocker features Dave Grohl on drums and some "ooh la las" with a gang chorus courtesy of Arctic Monkeys' frontman Alex Turner, Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan and QOTSA alumnus Nick Oliveri. Josh Homme has known Alex Turner for a while, having produced his band's 2009 album, Humbug and sung backup on their track "All My Own Stunts." Homme told NME: "With Alex it was like, 'Will you come over here just for a few hours and drink tequila and maybe we could sing something?' and he's like, 'Yup.'"
  
  Ever since Oliveri was fired from the Queens in 2004, fans have clamored for his return to the band, Reuniting with his former bassist turned out to one of the easiest things Homme had done in a long time. He told NME: "Nick recorded his record (with his band Mondo Generator) at my studio, and he was dropping some vinyl off and was like, 'Er, need background vocals?' and I was like, 'Yeah.' So he sang on 'If I Had A Tail'. Him and Mark Lanegan are going 'Oooohohohooo.' It's just friends you know. And that's good enough for me."
• Homme told Mojo magazine regarding the song's lyrical content: "Its combining 'Lady Marmalade,' and Shaun Cassidy. I don't know why, but the flip nature of that song brought out 'getcha-getcha ooh-la-la' and Shaun Cassidy's 'Da Doo Ron Ron.' It's not like chocolate and peanut butter, it's like chocolate and go-f--k-yourself."
• The song has become a live favorite. Josh Homme commented to NME: "That's a song that people gravitate to. I don't know that 'If I Had A Tail' is cathartic, it's just the sort of tune that when you play it you feel like you're wearing your f—k-me pumps. Everyone in the crowd is dancing, singing, smiling, arms in the air: What more could you want?"