Culture Club: Karma Chameleon

"Karma Chameleon" is a song by British New Wave band Culture Club, featured on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers. The song spent three weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, becoming the group's biggest hit and only US number one. "Karma Chameleon" hit number one in sixteen countries worldwide. In the group's home country, it became the second Culture Club single to reach the top of the UK singles chart (after "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"), where it stayed for six weeks in September and October 1983, and became the biggest-selling single of 1983. It is widely regarded as Culture Club's signature song.

In an interview, Culture Club frontman Boy George explained: "The song is about the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing. It's about trying to suck up to everybody. Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back."

The prominent harmonica part was played by Judd Lander, who had been a member of Merseybeat group The Hideaways in the 1960s. The song was originally to be called "Cameo Chameleon". The band were recorded in interviews in mid 1983 stating this was to be the title of their next single.

Likely because of the lyric "I'm a man without conviction," and the chorus, which includes the word "chameleon," "Karma Chameleon" has been used by several politicians in political ads. In 2006, Britain's Labour Party used "Karma Chameleon" as the theme song for a series of political advertisements against Conservative party leader David Cameron in the 2006 UK Elections. Also, during the 2010 U.S. senate race in Pennsylvania, Republican Pat Toomey used the song as backing music for his video "Happy Anniversary Arlen Specter!" as a way to criticize a sitting Senator from Pennsylvania and recently-turned Democrat Arlen Specter.

The song won Best British Single at the 1984 Brit Awards. The group performed the song as a finale when they appeared in the 1986 episode "Cowboy George" of The A-Team.


* Lyrics:
Songwriters: Craig, Michael; Moss, Jon; Pickett, Phil; Hay, Roy; O'Dowd, George.

There is loving in your eyes all the way.
If I listened to your lies would you say
I'm a man (a man) without conviction,
I'm a man (a man) who doesn't know
how to sell (to sell) a contradiction.
You come and go, you come and go.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Didn't hear your wicked words every day
and you used to be so sweet, I heard you say
that my love (my love) was an addiction.
When we cling (we cling) our love is strong.
When you go (you go) you're gone forever.
You string along, you string along.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Every day is like survival (sur-vi-val),
you're my lover (you're my lover), not my rival.
Every day is like survival (sur-vi-val),
you're my lover (you're my lover), not my rival.

I'm a man (a man) without conviction,
I'm a man (a man) who doesn't know
how to sell (to sell) a contradiction.
You come and go, you come and go.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon,
you come and go, you come and go.
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams,
red gold and green, red gold and green.

Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon
You come and go....