No more can you break from its toil
Than a gambler can break from his ventures,
The drunkard turn away from his rye.
When you once get the scent of the cocoa
The longing is there till you die.

The great world at large doesn't know all,
The guilty ones seldom confess
When you once get the scent of the cocoa
Wafted up from the bright passing dress
That their thoughts are not those of angels
Sweet and pure as the dew of the rose,
That it's not just the scent of the cocoa
But the perquisite that with it goes.

There are times when the righteous are doubtful,
There are times when no man doubts.
When you once get the scent of the cocoa
There's a man and his conscience at outs;
Reckless of moral destruction,
Fearless of anguish and pain,
When you once get the scent of the cocoa
'Tis that scent that you long for again.

One may part from the Orient gladly,
From its garlic and dhobie and goats;
But if he's once got the scent of the cocoa
As he sits and in reverie dotes,--
His thoughts will revert to the eastward,
To the land of yellow and brown