Canary in a Coalmine-The Police
Album: Zenyatta Modatta
Year: 1980
This catchy folk song written by Sting. Miners would send canaries into the unknown perils of coalmines to ascertain whethe or not the conditons were adequate for miners to work there. If the canary did not return from the mine, the mine was deemed dangerous and work would be postponed to a later date when the mine was thoroughly cleansed