The Hazards of Love is the fifth album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released through Capitol Records and Rough Trade in 2009.

The Hazards of Love is a rock opera, with all songs contributing to a unified narrative, similar to the use of recurring stories on the band's previous album, The Crane Wife.

Their exchange continues until the Queen resolves to allow William one night as a mortal man with Margaret, but afterwards reclaim him forever ("The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"), ending the first act.

William arrives at the river but is unable to cross until he offers his own life in exchange for safe passage ("Annan Water").

But before the Rake can strike, the ghosts of his three murdered children appear and thwart him ("The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)").

[9] In February 2012, Player's Theatre in Montreal, Canada staged the album under the name "The Hazards of Love: A Folk Opera" with dialogue written to accompany the Decemberists' original music.

[10] The script was written and directed by James Hugh Keenan Campbell and Charles Harries, and starred Montreal actors Emily Skahan, John Pleasants, and Katie Scharf among others.

[19] Marc Hogan of Pitchfork criticized the album's plot and lamented the absence of the band's "catchy choruses" and "verisimilar emotions", but praised its heavier songs and Shara Nova's contribution to them.