What are some old country and western songs that are in the public domain?

Answer 1

There are hundreds of country and western songs from 1922 and earlier. A few examples would be

• Down By the Old Mill Stream (1910)
• Erie Canal (1913)
• Tuck Me to Sleep (1922)
• Til the Clouds Roll By (1917)
• Buffalo Gals (1844)
• Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (pre-1912)
• My Darling Clementine (1884)
• Git Along Little Dogie (pre-1917)
• Home on the Range (1873)
• Red River Valley (pre-1876)
• Streets of Laredo (variant of early 19c Ballad)
• Sweet Betsy from Pike (1858)
• Yellow Rose of Texas (c 1836)
• Turkey in the Straw (1834)
• Ol' Dan Tucker (1843)
• Arkansas Traveler (1922)
• Sally Gooden (1922)
• Worried Man (19c)

Looking for lists of "folk," "roots," or "southern gospel" music will expand this list significantly.

Answer 2

In the US, all songs published before 1923 are in the public domain (although sound recordings of them may not be). A good resource is linked below, but you can also look at the wikipedia pages for "1922 in music" and so on for a list. Folk Music, traditional songs, and hundreds of hymns are PD as well.