Letters from Iraq, the most recent album by Rahim AlHaj for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, expresses the love and pain of lives lived by the people of war-torn Iraq. Rahim transposed actual mailed letters and their stories into song, creating eight gripping musical narratives. In this video, hear the song “Running Boy” and the letter that inspired it.

Read more about the making of the album—and the destruction of Rahim’s precious oud: http://s.si.edu/2j6SDqK