Songfacts®:

• Like many Smashing Pumpkins songs, the title doesn't appear in the lyric. The song is modeled after "Dark Lady," a 1975 track by the German band the Scorpions. "The intro and the vibe is very reminiscent of a song we have, called 'Tarantula,'" Billy Corgan said in the book German Metal Machine: Scorpions in the '70s. "We named it 'Tarantula' in ode to the Scorpions."
• This was the first single Smashing Pumpkins released since their breakup in 2000. The re-formed band contained just two original members, Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, which rankled some fans.
• Jimmy Chamberlin explained in a track-by-track commentary to accompany the Zeitgeist album: "Billy bought this guitar from this guy from Paris (James Trussart) who makes steel guitars and he brought a couple examples of his work to our rehearsal space. Billy grabbed one and plugged in into his amp and immediately started playing the riff from 'Tarantula' and the song was written pretty much on the spot."
• The video was directed by P.R. Brown, who also did the My Chemical Romance clip for "SING" and Carrie Underwood's "Two Black Cadillacs." Brown created a collage effect by compositing layers of footage of the band along with various visual effects.