Still Alive



"Still Alive" is a song sung by GLaDOS during the end credits of Portal. The lyrics are displayed on the left of the screen as a letter written by GLaDOS to Chell, with other words not featured in the song. On the right of the screen, the game credits roll, and under it logos of words said in the song displayed in ASCII art follow each other, such as the Aperture Science logo, the Black Mesa logo, a fire or a piece of cake.

The song was written by Jonathan Coulton and is performed by Ellen McLain, who also voices GLaDOS. An upbeat, instrumental version of the song can be heard on 85.2 FM on the radios, which dot Aperture Science Enrichment Center. Another version, basically the exact same version but sung by Jonathan Coulton, can be found at the end of The Orange Box Original Soundtrack.

Lyrics
The following lyrics closely follow how they are displayed in the Portal credits, except for the additional, not sung, notes. Not displayed words are put in brackets.

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.]

Interpretation
The song suggests that GLaDOS is indeed still alive, despite the fact her physical form was comprehensively destroyed by Chell at the end of Portal. The ambiguity of this final revelation is likely due to the fact that Valve has yet to decide what form Portal sequels will take, and how closely they will tie in with the Half-Life 2 series.

Trivia
"Still Alive" is also featured in the Rock Band video game series as a free downloadable song.