Leslie Norman Garrett

Les Garrett's musical role requires qualified wording. Early hymnological sources and hymnals described THIS IS THE DAY as a Fijian folk melody arranged by Garrett. The precise folk source has not been securely identified, and the Church of Scotland notes the possibility that the melody reached Fiji through missionary transmission rather than originating there.

Later copyright and licensing records credit Garrett as the composer, and one hymnal companion reports that he eventually claimed the melody as his own. Published versions also differ melodically and rhythmically. Roger Mayor and Christopher Norton are among the arrangers associated with distinct printed forms, while congregational oral tradition has produced further variants.

For this record, Garrett remains in the existing composer role because current licensing data assigns the composition to him. The biography nevertheless preserves the earlier Fijian attribution and distinguishes melody, arrangement, and later harmonization. Anyone reproducing the song should follow the credit and copyright notice in the licensed edition being used rather than assume that the folk-tune description makes the setting public domain.