View source for Canary In A Coalmine

{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #E6E6E6; border: solid 2px #FF0000; border-spacing: 2; padding:5px; margin-top:10px; font-size: 100%;" 
!  colspan="2" | <big>'''"Canary In A Coalmine"'''</big>
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
|  colspan="2" align="center" | [[Image:Police-album-zenyattamondatta.jpg|thumb|center|"[[Canary In A Coalmine]]" is a song on the [[1980]] album [[Zenyatta Mondatta]].]]
|- style="background-color: #E6E6E6;"
!  colspan="2" | Recorded by [[The Police]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Released:</b>
| [[1980-10-03]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Recorded:</b>
| [[1980-07-07]] - [[1980-08-07]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Length:</b>
| 2:26
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Album(s):</b>
| [[Zenyatta Mondatta]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Label(s):</b>
| [[A&M]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Writer(s):</b>
| [[Sting (person) | Sting]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Producer(s):</b>
| [[The Police (band)|The Police]], [[Nigel Gray]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Studio(s):</b>
| [[Wisseloord Studios]]
|- style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"
| <b>Released as single?</b>
| B-SIDE
|}

'''"Canary In A Coalmine"''' is a song written by [[Sting (person) | Sting]] and recorded by [[The Police]] in [[1980]].

=About the song=
[[Sting]] recorded his demo for this song in Dublin in the summer of [[1980]]. What he recorded is already pretty close to the LP version - bass, guitars and the general melody are all there.

In the demo's first chorus however [[Sting]] sings [[Canary In A Coalmine]] a fourth time. 

There's no third verse yet. No piano anywhere in the song. The short instrumental middle section is also absent. In its place there's an instrumental chorus with some additional guitar (maybe hinting at a possible solo).

With this extended middle part the demo passes the 3 minute mark.

=Personnel=
* [[Sting]] — bass, vocals
* [[Andy Summers]] - guitar
* [[Stewart Copeland]] — drums

=Release History=
==Albums==
[[Canary In A Coalmine]] appears on the following album releases:
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="1" style="background-color: #F0F0F0;  border-spacing: 2; padding:5px;"
! Cover art
! Album title
! Release date
! Release country
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:Police-album-zenyattamondatta.jpg|40px]]
| [[Zenyatta Mondatta]]
| [[1980-10-03]]
| UK
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:Police-album-messageinaboxthecompleterecordings.jpg|40px]]
| [[Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings]]
| [[1993-MM-DD]]
| UK
|}

==Singles==

===CD Singles===
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="1" style="background-color: #F0F0F0;  border-spacing: 2; padding:5px;"
! Cover art
! Catalog no.
! Songs
! Release date
! Release country
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:police-compacthits.jpg|40px]]
| AMCD 905
| "[[Roxanne (song)|Roxanne]]" / "[[Canary In A Coalmine]]" / "[[The Bed's Too Big Without You (song)|The Bed's Too Big Without You]]" / "[[Can't Stand Losing You (song)|Can't Stand Losing You]]"
| [[1988-06-01]]
| United Kingdom
|}

===7" Singles===
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="1" style="background-color: #F0F0F0;  border-spacing: 2; padding:5px;"
! Cover art
! Catalog no.
! A-side song/B-side song
! Release date
! Release country
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:45rpm.png|40px]]
| AM 58.002
| "[[De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da]]"/"[[Voices Inside My Head]]"/"[[Don't Stand So Close To Me]]"/"[[Canary In A Coalmine]]" 
| [[1980-MM-DD]]
| Brazil
|}

==Video==
"[[Canary In A Coalmine]]" appears on the following video and dvd releases:
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="1" style="background-color: #F0F0F0;  border-spacing: 2; padding:5px;"
! Cover art
! Video title
! Release date
! Release country
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:aroundtheworld_vhs_cover.jpg|40px]]
| [[Around The World]]
| [[1983-MM-DD]]
| UK
|}

=Lyrics=
'''Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.'''

* LP version:

<pre>
First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

You say you want to spend the winter in Firenza
You're so afraid to catch a dose of influenza
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine

Now if I tell you that you suffer from delusions
You pay your analyst to reach the same conclusions
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
oh

First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
etc.
</pre>


* demo version

<pre>
First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

You say you want to spend the winter in Firenza
You're so afraid to catch a dose of influenza
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine  
oh

First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect
Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
oh
Canary in a coalmine

You say you want to spend the winter in Firenza
You're so afraid to catch a dose of influenza
You live your life like a canary in a coalmine
You get so dizzy even walking in a straight line

Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
Canary in a coalmine
etc.
</pre>

=Quotations and trivia=
''This section needs more information.''

=Alternative and cover versions=
A cover version of [[Canary In A Coalmine]] appears on the following album release:
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="1" style="background-color: #F0F0F0;  border-spacing: 2; padding:5px;"
! Cover art
! Artist
! Album title
! Release date
! Release country
|- style="background-color: #FFFFFF;"
| [[Image:vinyl.png|40px]]
| Toots & The Maytals
| [[Reggatta Mondatta Volume II]]
| [[1998-06-30]]
| ??
|}

=See also=
* [[Zenyatta Mondatta]]

=External links=
''This section needs more information.''

=References=
* Police, The. ''Zenyatta Mondatta''. (1980) [Audio recording], A&M Records.
* ''ThePolice.com.'' UltraStar Entertainment LLC. 2 Jun 2008. <http://www.thepolice.com/discog/?v=so&a=2&id=107>

[[Category:Songs (The Police)]][[Category:Songs (Sting)]]