Soundtrack question

I don't know what the early-1940's equivalent of "Royalty-free" is, but did the film's soundtrack simply consist of songs that were the era's royalty-free songs? I swear I heard 'Home on the Range' when the little boy was going to be adopted. Kind of a bizarre choice, unless they chose it because it was inexpensive to use.

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A life lived in fear is a life half-lived