Bruce Springsteen sings bilingual Argentine protest song

Bruce Springsteen performed in Argentina for the first time in 25 years, but was too spent to do justice to the song he intended to end his show with, "Solo le pido a Dios" ("I Only Ask of God"), so he directed fans to his website for a solo-acoustic version.

The song was originally by Argentine folk-rocker León Gieco, known as "the Argentine Bob Dylan."

Though Gieco and Springsteen both performed in Buenos Aires in 1988 as part of Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! benefit concert series, Springsteen says he learned "Solo le pido a Dios" from the late folk singer Mercedes Sosa.

Springsteen introduced the song in Spanish, saying his "memories of that time are still very much alive," referring to his 1988 visit.

"We came to Argentina when the country was going through a difficult time, and fighting for its future. For a foreigner, Argentina was very much alive, promising. So it's a huge inspiration for me to return here, and I want to leave this song to the people of Argentina."

After singing in Spanish, he switched to English for a 1978 song that Gieco wrote in protest of the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976-83.

Springsteen is on tour with the E Street Band in South America, and last week, he performed "Manifesto" by Chilean poet and songwriter Victor Jara in Santiago. Springsteen will perform today in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Saturday at Rock in Rio.