The missing words in Culture Club's “Karma Chameleon” lyric are “go,” completing the song's familiar contrast between coming and leaving.
“Karma Chameleon” was released in 1983 on the album Colour by Numbers. Written by Boy George with Jon Moss, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, and Phil Pickett, it became Culture Club's signature hit and one of the most recognizable pop singles of the decade.
Boy George explained that the song concerns alienation, people-pleasing, and the consequences of not being true to one's feelings. Although the music has a warm, accessible sound, the subject is emotional instability and shifting identity—ideas reinforced by the chameleon metaphor.
The song topped the charts in 20 countries and became Culture Club's only US number-one single. “Stay” can seem tempting because the lyric discusses emotional uncertainty, while “hide” and “run” fit the song's mood, but the established lyric uses the paired movement “come and go.”