The "Still Alive" Credits Song From Portal
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The Portal Ending Song : GLaDOS' Report
The singing is computerised, and sounds eerie and cannot be replicated by a human voice. It was written by Jonathon Coulton. It is especially eerie as GLaDOS was apparently destroyed... and yet she's singing about being 'still alive'.
This song has spawned dozens of parodies, gazillions of quotes, signatures and taglines, and is instantly recognised by anyone who has played Portal - as well as much of the wider internet community. Me and my brother used to sing it endlesly around the house and I bet we're not the only ones! Jonathan Coulton returned for Portal 2 with the credits song "Want You Gone!"
Are You Familiar With This Song?
Can you sing along?

Download "Still Alive" MP3 Here!
Written by Jonathan Coulton, for the credits of Portal
2. Sung by Jonathan Coulton
3. Jonathan Coulton & Sara Quinn
4.Orchestral version by Alice Zoë Bevan-McGregor
5. Orchestra Tribute to Jonathan Coulton and Portal by Walt Ribeiro
You can buy the Mp3 for only $0.89!
Lyrics Quiz: How Well Do You Know The Still Alive Lyrics?
See if you can get the next line right!
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!

The Lyrics of "Still Alive"
What are they? And what do they mean?
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.
GLaDOS was created by Aperture Science. She also says (rather than sings) these lines when activated in Portal: Prelude (a downloadable mod), before killing everyone. The first couple of lines are actually said by scientists overseeing her activation.
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.
The gun here is the Portal Gun - a very fun toy around which the entire game revolves, which opens portals into walls and floors. GLaDOS is also still following her programming - research for the benefit of her original creators (until she killed them, anyway).
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!
Here GLaDOS is very subtly referring to the fact that you (as Chell) fought her and threw her personality core into the incinerator. Even though she always promised she was on your side, and if you only did as you were told, you could have some nice cake.
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.
GLaD = a pun on her name, GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System)
In theory, the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre was developed to perform experiments and learn things. Then GLaDOS took over... but she's still programmed for research, unfortunately.
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.
HAHA. FAT CHANCE.
'Outside' is apparently a wasteland (apparently because we only have GLaDOS' word for it).
Black Mesa are a rival research group to Aperture Science Laboratories and are the main focus of Valve's Half Life games. 'Outside' is the setting for these games.
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.
A terrible pun on her name and another reference to how horrible it is outside of the Enrichment Centre.
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
In hindsight, it's probably not entirely unexpected that GLaDOS turns up again hundreds of years later, in Portal 2. If this isn't a classic "I'll be back!" then nothing is.
Still Alive by Jonathan Coulton and sung by Ellen McLain (GLaDOS, TF2 Announcer, HL2 Overwatch Administrator)
Personnel File Addendum Addendum

Still Alive: The Credits
Personnel File Addendum: Dear <Subject Name Here>.... [Portal Ending Credits]

The song plays in the credits as an addendum on the personnell file that GLaDOS is entering into the database - the real credits are arolling in the right-hand box, the lyrics appear line by line on the left, and the pixel-image (made up of symbols) changes to match the lines of the song.
Here, the flames are to "...and threw every piece into a fire"
Extracting the "Still Alive" Music From Portal GFC Files
If you own Portal, you can extract the "Still Alive" Mp3 yourself.
- Part 1: Find the File
- Find Directory: \Steam\steamapps\*
- This should contain two large files: "portal english.gcf" and "portal content.gcf"
- Part 2: Extract and Save the Mp3 File
- Download GFCScrape & install (or any other GFC editor/browser)
- Start GFCScrape
- File => Open
- Navigate to your Steam installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\Steam)
- Open the directory "steamapps" (e.g. C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps)
- Open the file "portal content.gcf"
- Within GFCScrape, navigate to: root\portal\sound\music\
- Drag and drop the file "portal_still_alive.mp3" to your desktop or mp3 directory
Jonathan Coulton Sings "Still Alive"
Live versions of the song from Jonathan Coulton
Here are two videos of him singing accompanied by his guitar, as well as a new version featuring him and Sarah Quinn, which is available on his new album Artificial Heart
Jonathon Coulton and Felicia Day Sing 'Still Alive'
Felicia Day is the main lead of 'The Guild'
"Still Alive" Piano Tutorials
Learn to play "Still Alive" on piano!
Download the Piano Sheet Music for "Still Alive" here!
(four page PDF file)...or have a look at some of the other piano sheet music for Still Alive below
Still Alive - Trombone Trio Arrangement
Because the piano wasn't impressive enough...
You can download the Trombone Sheet Music from 4shared under 'Trombones'
Direct links:
MIDI
MUS (Finale)
Sheet Music For "Still Alive"
The song transcribed in various music notations
I am not a musical expert - all I know is that each one looks slightly different (and some have all the words), and they mostly appear to have been transcribed by different people.
Still Alive Piano Sheet Music
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Portal's Still Alive Sheet Music
Portal's Still Alive Sheet Music. is triumph the I more...0 points
Still Alive Sheet Music
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Still Alive Trombone Trio.MID
(2) Still Alive Trombone Trio - download at 4share more...0 points
Still Alive Trombone Trio.MUS
(2) Still Alive Trombone Trio - download at 4share more...0 points
"Still Alive" in Rock Band!
You can download this song to play in Rock Band and Rock Band 2
You can download "Still Alive" for Rock Band here FREE!
Available for Xbox 360 and PS3 (I think)
Pre-order Rock Band 3
Platform: Xbox 360 (and others)
Rock Band 3
Amazon Price: $25.49 (as of 06/04/2012)![]()
List Price: $19.99
If you get this (or the older version) you can download Still Alive for free and play it endlessly. Until you run out of cake.
Release Date: 10/26/2010
Guitar Hero 3 - Still Alive
Portal's "Still Alive" as performed on Guitar Hero 3 PC.
Japanese Version of "Still Alive"
Created with Vocaloid 2 Speech Synth software by sm1577871 on smilevideo.
This is a direct stream copy from the source: 2 channels, 32kbps, 44.1khz (the video here is mono).
Other Awesome Geeky Versions of "Still Alive"
Re-enactments, typography, 8-bit, Mario Paint and music videos!
Who's Singing About "Still Alive"?
A quick scan of the blogs to see what turns up...
- Custom-made Aperture Science gas mask will make sure you're still alive, won't ...
- By Jon Fingas posted May 25th 2012 5:17AM Valve's Portal series has been used as the pretext for many achievements outside of puzzle gaming, including getting hitched. Keeping you from shuffling off this mortal coil, however, is still new.
- S&P Capital IQ Equity Research Group Announces Q2 2012 Webinar: "Where Are ...
- Is the bull market in stocks still alive? Do we finally have a bottom in gold? What US and international equity ETFs are best positioned to benefit from secular trends for the rest of 2012? How important should an ETF's past performance be in sorting ...
- Quantum Conundrum E3 Trailer
- If you'd like a clearer idea of what Airtight Games' upcoming XBLA dimension-hopping puzzler Quantum Conundrum may entail, imagine if the test chamber puzzling from Portal: Still Alive (and of course Portal 2) and Elizabeth's ability to manipulate ...
- A Closer Look at the Upcoming Animated Portal Short
- The shots bring the protagonist Chell to life, infusing the mute, determined queen of the portal gun with warmth and humanity. "Well, of course, the game is phenomenal, and I was obsessed with the sequel the instant it was announced," said Zemke via ...
More Awesome Geek Game Music
Original fan songs from geeky musicians!
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Are You Still Alive?
And was the cake untrue?
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CrazySnake513
Jan 3, 2012 @ 2:16 pm | delete
- Great song. I still remember hearing ir for the first time after beating the game.
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mrsphillips200
May 29, 2011 @ 11:26 pm | delete
- LOL, love playong this song on the ukulele!
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chemknitsblog
Apr 1, 2011 @ 4:17 pm | delete
- I heard this song quite a bit as my physicist was playing it (he's working on real portals for me. I expect them any day now!)
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massivedynamic
Jul 24, 2010 @ 9:55 pm | delete
- I love this song. I bought the Orange Box soundtrack just to listen to it. Awesome lens!
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More About Portal
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