Are Old Music Lyrics Also Public Domain?

Written text and books published prior to ~1923 are always public domain, since there were no copyright laws (please, correct me if I'm wrong)

What about music lyrics?
Are the words from famous old songs (prior to ~1923) always public domain?
Of course I'd still give credit to the author, but no permission would be needed from their relatives, estate, etc.

Correct?

 

i think yes. but wait for more replies from experts too ;-P

 

There were copyright laws before 1923, it's just that the copyright has expired.

I believe the copyright rules for published lyrics should be the same as for any other published work.

You can check basic information about whether an item is in the public domain here:
http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/
http://librarycopyright.net/digitalslider/

The bottom line is that works published in the US before 1923 are in the public domain.

 

I think it's not illegal.but don't forget about authors