[Verse 1]
Marching through the sliding doors
Trolley squeaks like old front lines
Shopping list is crumpled orders
Scrawled in my own shaky handwriting
Specials posters
Bright as posters
Recruiting me to “buy
Save
Thrive”
Ration cards turned plastic points
Welcome to aisle five
[Chorus]
This is my Coles campaign
Bananas in the top like contraband
Milk bottles lined up like tin can brigades
Bread rolls stacked like sandbag chains
Doing my duty
Week by week
Till the checkout light turns green
In my quiet
Peacetime life
I fight for dinner in aisle five
[Verse 2]
Nonna by the canned tomatoes
Tells me
“We had less than this”
Queueing once for powdered eggs
Praying for a citrus fix
Now I weigh up brands like briefings
“Homebrand? Luxury?” Hard call
Peace tastes like fresh strawberries
And a full red basket haul
[Bridge]
Granddad’s photo on my fridge
Eyes like storms
Sleeves rolled high
He’d laugh to see me stress
Over which pasta to buy (oh why)
He crossed oceans for a crust
I cross suburbs for a sale
Both of us just chasing trust
In a world that sometimes fails
[Chorus]
This is my Coles campaign
Bananas in the top like contraband
Milk bottles lined up like tin can brigades
Bread rolls stacked like sandbag chains
Doing my duty
Week by week
Till the checkout light turns green
In my quiet
Peacetime life
I fight for dinner in aisle five
[Chorus]
This is my Coles campaign
Trolley like a tank in the discount lane (hey!)
Family rations
Fruit and faith
All accounted
All sustained
Doing my duty
Week by week
While the old songs hum in my mind
It’s a gentle kind of victory
Walking out with bags this time