The tango starts with a bold four-bar introduction. Written in C minor, the first section has a danceable tango bass accompaniment, while the treble carries the melody, with an abundance of accents, phrasing, and articulation. It then morphs into a C major section, with an uplifting treble melody, and introduces the diminished chord in the basses, in a combination tango and beguine rhythm (hence the “emergency”).

The next section restates the introduction and first section, but with a few twists in the treble, which require more attention (plus more technique, phrasing and punctuation). It ends in a somewhat typical tango style, but with a few twists. The piece is ideally suited to Stradella bass instruments because of its rhythmic content.