We don’t need complicated subjects and plots -
We know it all, whatever you give us.
For instance, I think our Penal Code
Is better than any book on earth.

And if I’m restless and can’t sleep
Or if I’m dead from a hangover,
I’ll open the Code on any page,
And I can’t help but read it to the end.

I never gave my comrades advice,
But I know robbery is a great honor with them.
Well, I just read about this:
"No less than three, no more than ten."

Just think about these simple lines, -
Why do we need the novels of all times and lands?
There’s everything in them - barracks as long as terms,
Scandals, fights, cards, and betrayal.

I wish I’d never seen these lines in a hundred years -
Behind each one I see someone’s fate!
And I’m happy when the section isn’t too bad:
Someone may yet get lucky.

And my heart beats like a wounded bird
When I start reading my own section.
And the blood in my temples bursts and pounds so,
Like when the cops come to get you.