After Carmen is caught fighting in the factory, Joe must deliver her to the jailhouse. When they stop midway on a rural road, Carmen sees an opportunity to regain her liberty. In this provocative, flirtatious song, she urges Joe to let her go and suggests that they instead go out dancing together.

In the “Seguidilla” from Bizet’s opera Carmen, the protagonist urges her captor, Don José, to release her and meet her later at Lillas Pastia’s inn. In Oscar Hammerstein’s American update, Carmen Jones begs Joe to liberate her and meet her that night at Billy Pastor’s Café.