"The Hazards of Love" by The Decemberists

"The Hazards of Love" album by The Decemberists was a concept album/rock opera that follows a fairy tale dreamed up by the band's front man, Colin Meloy. Here's a brief retelling of the story. Once upon a time....

"The Hazards of Love" Album Artwork

A fair maiden, Margaret, rode out into the taiga. Along the way, she came upon an injured fawn. Being sweet and kind, she stops to help it but, as she kneels down to check its leg, the fawn transforms into a beautiful young man, William. Enthralled by each other, they make love and then William disappears into the forest, as shape-shifting men tend to do. A few months later, Margaret discovers she's knocked up. Desperate, she runs back to the forest to find William. Hearing her cries, William returns to Margaret and finally declares his love for her. They are cuddling and reminiscing about their first night together when William's mother, The Forest Queen, discovers them. And, boy, is she pissed off about their romance.

You see, The Forest Queen saved William when he was abandoned by the river as a baby. She loved him as if he was her own child and bestowed him with the gift of Immortality. She views William's actions as ingratitude. He begs her to allow him one night with Margaret and she concedes. But only one night as a mortal man and then he can never see her again. After the deal is struck, Margaret is kidnapped by The Rake. The Forest Queen, being a raging bitch, gives The Rake permission to rape Margaret and allows him to escape. William cannot follow across the river unless he gives up his life for safe passage. Meanwhile, Margaret is screaming for him to save her. Then, the Rake is stopped by a trio of ghosts - his children whom he murdered - allowing William enough time to rescue Margaret. As they are running away, they choose to get "married" by jumping in the river and drowning while William is still a mortal. As they drown, the make a final pledge of love as they die. Fin.

With this long last rush of air

We'll speak our vows in starry whisper

And when the waves came crashing down

He closed his eyes and softly kissed her

What the fuck is with these people choosing to drown in order to be together forever?! That seems to be a common theme in these fairy tales, even ones that have been written in recent years. In fact, fairy tales written in modern times seem to be even darker, like they're going to be turned into a movie directed by Darren Aronofsky. Let's just drown ourselves! It'll be fun....and it's the ONLY WAY! I didn't know this story was going to take such a dark turn when I started listening to the album - and I have been listening to it the whole time I've been writing this. Because I like the Decemberists. In fact, I sought out a Decemberists song specifically for this month, because they're usually so whimsical and lovely. I've heard "The Rake's Song" on my playlist several times, but I hadn't taken the time to listen to the album before. In this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It does get a little confusing because Colin Meloy sings both the parts of William and The Rake. Shara Nova, who plays The Forest Queen, is wonderful and haunting (I highly recommend listening to "The Queen's Rebuke"). The music composition has such depth and makes wonderful use of the harpsichord (I fucking love the harpsichord...it's my favorite instrument). Other favorite songs on the album include "Annan Water" and "The Wanting Comes in Waves." But, for today's video, I chose the final song - "The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)" - because it's beautiful and sad and perfectly sums up the entire story. It's a duet - Meloy's strong, soulful tenor harmonizes so well with Becky Starks ghostly soprano....it really is a brilliantly done song and a lovely ending to the entire album. Seriously...try not to cry.

"The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)" Video