The Hard and The Easy is the seventh studio album by Great Big Sea.

Its title is derived from a line in the folk song "Tickle Cove Pond", which appears as the closing track on the album.

The album offered through iTunes came with a digital copy of the booklet.

In addition, a live version of "The Old Black Rum" was offered to those who signed up for the pre-order.

The CD version of the album came with a bonus DVD featuring back-stories, commentary and informal performances of many of the album tracks.