| Forty-Nine Bottles | |
|---|---|
| w. 14th century, m. 1900 or earlier | |
| Verse: | Forty-nine bottles hanging on the wall, Forty-nine bottles hanging on the wall; Take one away from them all, Forty-eight bottles hanging on the wall. |
| Note: | Tune: Ten Green Bottles. This tune differs from the tune most sung today. |
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The lyrics, melody. and arrangement of Forty-Nine Bottles as published before 1931 are in the public domain in the USA. However, it is a virtual certainty that video, sound recordings, and 1931 or later music arrangements of this song are under copyright protection. Only sound recordings published in 1925 or earlier are in the public domain in the USA.
If you create your own derivate arrangement based on any version of this song published after 1930 you are liable for copyright infringment on derivative works made by others. This is especially true of folk songs and spirituals. Many versions of folk songs, spirituals, and some popular songs as known today are actually derivative works under copyright that were created from PD songs often quite different from well known versions today.
THE ONLY WAY to know precisely what lyrics and melody are in the public domain is to obtain a Sheet Music Publication with a Copyright Date of 1930 or earlier. You then work from the PD publication to create and copyright your own derivative work.