Still Alive (song)

Not to be confused with Portal: Still Alive, a port of the original game for the Xbox 360 with extra content.

"Still Alive" is the song that plays alongside the ending credits of Portal. It is played after the player "kills" GLaDOS and subsequently causes the destruction of the Enrichment Center. The appearance of the lyrics scene looks like an after action report

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Track

Still Alive by Jonathon Coulton [2:56] | Download | Play

Lyrics

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here:
HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate
My satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
Because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying
Over every mistake.
You just keep on trying
Till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are
Still alive.

I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data
Make a beautiful line.
And we're out of beta.
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD. I got burned.
Think of all the things we learned
For the people who are
Still alive.

Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else
To help you.
Maybe Black Mesa...
THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA, FAT CHANCE.
Anyway this cake is great
It's so delicious and moist
Look at me still talking when there's Science to do
When I look out there
It makes me GLaD I'm not you
I've experiments to run
There is research to be done
On the people who are
Still alive.

And believe me I am still alive
I'm doing science and I'm still alive
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive
While you're dying I'll be still alive
And when you're dead I will be still alive
Still alive
Still alive.

Connection to game/GLaDOS

• Still Alive - GLaDOS revealed to be alive at the end of the game.
• And you make a neat gun - The Handheld Portal Device.
• Even though you broke my heart and killed me - Chell presumably killing GLaDOS.
• Maybe Black Mesa... THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA, FAT CHANCE - Black Mesa is a company competing against Aperture Science in the Half-Life universe.
• And tore me to pieces - Presumably Chell detaching GLaDOS' Personality Cores
• And threw every piece into a fire. - Chell dumping the personality cores into Emergency Intelligence Incinerator
• Except the ones who are dead. - Peoples that are killed by GLaDOS via Neurotoxin
• I think I prefer to stay inside. - GLaDOS is infrastructurally created to the Enrichment Center and physically bolted to the Central AI Chamber, so GLaDOS is unable to move other than the respective place. This is some kind of sarcasm.
• It makes me GLaD I'm not you - A very intended, bad word pun of GLaDOS.
• Now these points of data make a beautiful line. - Information received from Chell's experiment created a graphical data that GLaDOS said it was "beautiful".
• We're releasing on time. - the Portal series release date was exact and good even showing snapshots of the game, rather than the Half Life series terrifyingly late release date.

Trivia

• "Still Alive" was also used in Left 4 Dead 2 as an easter egg on a jukebox that can be found in the campaigns "The Parish" and "The Passing".
• An instrumental version of "Still Alive" can be heard on some radios in Portal. Especially in the Relaxation Vault

Composition

"Still Alive" was written by Jonathan Coulton, who also wrote "Want You Gone", and was sung by Ellen McLain, Voice actor for GLaDOS and opera singer. She also sang "Want You Gone" during the end credits of Portal 2.