''Sólo le pido a Dios'' (in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
: ''I only ask of God'') is a famous
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
, written by Argentine singer-songwriter
León Gieco
Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentinian ...
. It is the first song of Gieco's 1978 album, ''IV LP''.
History

Gieco wrote it in 1978, at his parents' house in his childhood village of
Cañada Rosquín
Cañada Rosquín is a small town (''comuna'') in the . It is located in the San Martín Department, from the provincial capital ( Santa Fe). It has a population of about 5,000 inhabitants ().
The town was founded in 1891 by Rafael Escriña. As ...
, a small town in the north of
Santa Fe Province
The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R ...
, Argentina. He wrote it in the presence of his father, who told him that the song would be "world-renowned", which it eventually was. Gieco composed this song by first trying out melodies with his
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...
and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
, then writing personal feelings which gradually turned into phrases inspired by the harsh social events of the time, such as the
military dictatorship of his country,
Mercedes Sosa’s exile, and the
threat of war between Chile and Argentina at the time.
Gieco doubted whether or not to include the song on his 1978 album ''IV LP'', believing it was "boring and monotonous", but finally did, following the advice of
Charly García
Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and ...
. Thereafter, Gieco sang it as his closing song and has played it in all his national and international tours.
Since then it has been interpreted by various artists, both from Argentina and around the world.
Versions
This song has been covered by various artists around the world and translated into more than twenty-five languages, including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Port ...
,
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous c ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
,
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...
,
Persian,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
*
León Gieco
Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentinian ...
*
Ana Belén
María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta (born 27 May 1951, Madrid), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer.
Life/career
Born in 1951, Ana Belén is the oldest of three children. Her father was a cook in Hotel Palace, and ...
*
Antonio Flores
Antonio González Flores (14 November 1961 – 30 May 1995) was a Spanish singer-songwriter and actor.
He was Romani on his father's side and maternal grandmother side.
Antonio is known for his pop rock style of singing. His songs, which he ...
*
Beth Carvalho
*
Emma Shapplin
Emma Shapplin (born Crystêle Madeleine Joliton Interview video with Emma Shapplin for the Russian TV channel TVC. on 19 May 1974, in the Paris suburb of Savigny-le-Temple) is a French soprano.
Discography
Albums
*'' Carmine Meo'' (1997, Pe ...
*
Fiel a la Vega
Fiel a La Vega is a Rock en Español band from Puerto Rico formed in 1994. The band consisted of members Tito Auger and Ricky Laureano (vocals and guitars), who come from the northern city of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, along with brothers Pedro ...
*
Florent Pagny
Florent Pagny (born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and " Ma Liberté de pe ...
*
Gervasio
*
Ginevra Di Marco Ginevra may refer to:
* Ginevra (given name), a variant spelling of the given name Juniper
* Ginevra, the Italian form of Geneva
* ''Ginevra'', an 1882 poem by Samuel Rogers relating the Legend of the Mistletoe Bough
* ''Ginevra'', a lyric drama w ...
*
Imca Marina IMCA may refer to:
* International Marine Contractors Association, a trade association for offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies
* International Management Centres Association, an unaccredited institution of higher education based ...
*
Javiera y Los Imposibles
Javiera y Los Imposibles is Chilean pop band led by Javiera Parra, granddaughter of Chilean folk musician Violeta Parra. The band was formed when Álvaro Henríquez from Los Tres
Los Tres also known as The Tr3s or The 3, is a Chilean rock ...
*
Joan Manuel Serrat
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages.
Serrat's lyrical style ...
*
Juan Diego Flórez
Juan Diego Flórez (born Juan Diego Flórez Salom, January 13, 1973) is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the ''Knight Grand Cross in t ...
*
Luciano Pereyra
Luciano Ariel Pereyra (born September 21, 1981) is an Argentine singer.
Biography
In 1984, when he was three years old, his parents noticed his talent for music and gave him a guitar for Christmas. The following year, he competed in a televisi ...
*
Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...
*
Miguel Ríos
Miguel Ríos Campaña (born 7 June 1944) is a Spanish singer, composer, actor. He is one of the pioneers of rock and roll in Spain.
Biography
Ríos was born in La Cartuja, a neighborhood of Granada. The youngest of seven children, he went to w ...
*
Nicole
*
Mario Guerrero
Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (born September 28, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four teams in an eight-year career from to .
Career
Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in . After fo ...
*
Kata
''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practis ...
*
Leo Rey
*
Outlandish
Outlandish is a hip-hop music group based in Denmark. Formed in 1997, it consisted of Isam Bachiri (born in Denmark and of Berber background), (born in Denmark and of Pakistani background), and (born in Honduras and of Cuban and Honduran de ...
*
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
*
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer. Referred to as " The Golden Girl" and " Queen of Latin Pop", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successful pop group Timbiriche from 1982 through 1991. A ...
*
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...
*
Pibes Chorros
Pibes Chorros is an Argentine cumbia villera group founded in 2001 in the city of Berazategui by keyboardist and singer Ariel "el traidor" Salinas. The theme of their lyrics, with a high violent content, quickly captured the attention of the pub ...
*
Piero De Benedictis
*
Raúl Porchetto
*
Sergio Denis
*
Sixto Palavecino
Sixto Doroteo Palavecino (March 31, 1915 – April 24, 2009) was a poet, musician and singer of Argentine folk music, who started playing the violin when he was 10-years old.
Palavecino was influential as a player, a compiler of folk traditions ...
*
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
*
Tania Libertad
*
Kleiton e Kledir
*
U2León Gieco cantó con Bono en la última fecha de U2 en La Plata.
Retrieved March 6, 2016
* Víctor Heredia
* Víctor Manuel
Víctor Manuel San José Sánchez (born July 7, 1947) is a Spanish singer-songwriter.
He has been married to the Spanish singer and actress Ana Belén since 1972. He and his wife are considered symbols of the Spanish Transition, and his songs ...
See also
*National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...
*Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com – 4 October 2009), sometimes known as ' ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solo le pido a Dios
1978 songs
Argentine songs
Argentine rock songs
Protest songs