| The Hard Way | |
| Type: | Studio album |
| Artist: | Clint Black |
| Cover: | The Hard Way cover.jpg |
| Released: | July 14, 1992 |
| Recorded: | 1991–1992 |
| Studio: | Studio Sound (Burbank, California); Moonee Ponds (Los Angeles); Eleven Eleven, Mesa (Nashville) |
| Genre: | Neotraditional country |
| Length: | 34:09 |
| Label: | RCA Nashville |
| Producer: | James Stroud, Clint Black |
| Prev Title: | Put Yourself in My Shoes |
| Prev Year: | 1990 |
| Next Title: | No Time to Kill |
| Next Year: | 1993 |
The Hard Way is the third studio album by American country music singer Clint Black. It includes the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks top-ten hits "We Tell Ourselves"[#2], "Burn One Down"[#4], and the number-one hit "When My Ship Comes In". Released on July 14, 1992, it was co-produced by Black and James Stroud. While not as commercially successful as his first two albums, The Hard Way was certified platinum by the RIAA.
The Hard Way has been described as a neotraditional country album with elements of pop compared to 1970s singer-songwriters such as Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, and Dan Fogelberg.
| Chart (1992) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 8 | |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 3 | |
| Canadian RPM Top Albums | 47 |
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1992 | "We Tell Ourselves" | 2 | 1 | |
| "Burn One Down" | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1993 | "When My Ship Comes In" | 1 | 1 | |