Everett,

Copyright law is one of those gray areas that most people think they know about yet very few actually do. I can't answer your questions about Canada, and particularly in the church, but I can hazzard a guess. Many songs in church hymnals, are actually old old songs, that were passed down from generation to generation and actually have no single source as a writer. Along the way their might be one accepted version and possibly someone gets the credit, but there is not really any particular writer.

We recently had an 8 part documentary called "THE HISTORY OF COUNTRY MUSIC" that chronicles the art form from the beginning in the 20's. People like AP Carter and the Carter family, would gather old folk melodys and lyrics and when they were actually recorded were given credit for that particular version. An example would be "WILDWOOD FLOWER" which was a hundreds year old song but Mother Maybelle Carter is given credit for the first "real recording" and therefore now is credited with the song.
A very famous recording is "American Folk Trilogy" recorded and a huge song for Elvis Presley. And is given credit to writer Micky Newbury for writing it. But he didn't write any of it. It was "ALL MY TRIALS, BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC, AND DIXIE" which are all old folk songs credited to other people. Yet Micky had a reputation and was paid for those songs.

Churches are the oldest receptical for many old melodies and words and have probably been added to by dozens of people over the centuries. Our own National Anthem was written from a 17th Century drinking song. Another aspect was that long before copyright laws, it was accepted practice to take an old song and add your own lyrics to it. In the country music series, there was one particularly melody, "Wasn't God who made Honky Tonk Angels" Which has been a hit on at least three different songs in about 75 years. The same melody keeps popping up.

In today's digital world with most artists simply sounding like other artists and the songs can actually be laid over each other and be the same thing. I don't know how most copyright laws can be remotely enforced.

So I don't know if that is the reason for your question but I would bet it lays in there some where. Look and see if it has a "Traditional" note on the writer line. If if does, that is where it is, and the fact that most songs in hymnals are PUBLIC DOMAIN so they don't have to pay liscencing fees, might have something to do with it.


MAB