Difference between revisions of "Canary In A Coalmine"

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With this extended middle part the demo passes the 3 minute mark.
 
With this extended middle part the demo passes the 3 minute mark.
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There are two edited versions of this track where [[Nigel Gray]] was still experimenting with the sound levels of individual instruments. Both are only 2:11 minutes long.
  
 
=Personnel=
 
=Personnel=

Revision as of 01:16, 14 August 2020

"Canary In A Coalmine"
"Canary In A Coalmine" is a song on the 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta.
Recorded by The Police
Released: 1980-10-03
Recorded: 1980-07-07 - 1980-08-07
Length: 2:26
Album(s): Zenyatta Mondatta
Label(s): A&M
Writer(s): Sting
Producer(s): The Police, Nigel Gray
Studio(s): Wisseloord Studios
Released as single? B-SIDE

"Canary In A Coalmine" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1980.

About the song

The Police recorded an early version of this song on 1980-02-23 while being in Tokyo, Japan.

Sting recorded another demo for this song in Dublin in the summer of 1980. What he put to tape 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.

There are two edited versions of this track where Nigel Gray was still experimenting with the sound levels of individual instruments. Both are only 2:11 minutes long.

Personnel

Release History

Albums

Canary In A Coalmine appears on the following album releases:

Cover art Album title Release date Release country
Police-album-zenyattamondatta.jpg Zenyatta Mondatta 1980-10-03 UK
Police-album-messageinaboxthecompleterecordings.jpg Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings 1993-MM-DD UK

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art Catalog no. Songs Release date Release country
Police-compacthits.jpg AMCD 905 "Roxanne" / "Canary In A Coalmine" / "The Bed's Too Big Without You" / "Can't Stand Losing You" 1988-06-01 United Kingdom

7" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song/B-side song Release date Release country
45rpm.png 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:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country
Aroundtheworld vhs cover.jpg 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:
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.


  • demo version
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.

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:

Cover art Artist Album title Release date Release country
Vinyl.png Toots & The Maytals Reggatta Mondatta Volume II 1998-06-30 ??

See also

External links

This section needs more information.

References