Portal: The Skinny
I’m loving all the swirling rumors and speculations, the secret extraction and youtubing. But now that the game is out I will come clean and reveal the inside story. I will avoid spoilers as much as possible here (though you should not read the lyrics if you really want to be surprised).
The game is called Portal and it is awesome. The song is called “Still Alive” and it plays as part of the end credits when you finish the game. This all came about when a couple of Valve folks came to one of my shows in Seattle long ago, and followed up with me afterwards asking if I’d be interested in working with them in some capacity. I’ve long been a fan of Half-Life, so I said yes yes yes. We got together to talk about a couple of ideas, and somehow we decided it would be a good idea for me to write a song in the voice of one of the characters in the game, something that would sort of tie up the story arc at the end.
The character is this hilarious passive aggressive personality, which is obviously a perfect subject for me. I write about that sort of thing all the time. I got an advance copy of the game when it was nearly finished, played through it, talked with the writers, and tried to get inside this character’s head as best I could. I bought my first ukulele specifically to record this song, it just seemed right for it. (Or maybe I wrote the song that way so I could buy a ukulele, hard to say.)
I recorded a version with some scratch vocals and we sent it to the voice actress who did that character in the game, Ellen McLain. We all went into the studio to record her vocals, then did all the fancy computer sound things they do to make her sound like a computer voice. Ellen’s a classically trained soprano, and a very talented voice actress - she has this character down perfectly, and she did a great job conveying emotion in a non-emotional way. Between her and the very strong writing behind her character’s dialog, it was hard for me to not end up looking good in all this.
Did I mention the game is awesome?
To answer some of your questions:
I believe that Valve has some plans on making this track officially available through Steam and perhaps elsewhere, also maybe a version with me singing the song. I don’t know when that will happen, but sometime soon I’m sure. It’s really their ball game at this point, because they did commission this song from me. I’m not going to interfere with whatever they want to do with it, so I won’t be posting it here.
Lyrics and chords are below (hooray!). Someday I or Valve may also want to make the source tracks available, but that’s further down the line. I have no sheet music, because that is not how the J-Dog rolls.
I’m very happy to have been a part of this - the team of people behind the game, and indeed everyone I’ve met at Valve are all such talented and creative people, and it was a privilege to work with them. Long ago there was a Playstation game called Skullmonkeys that had a great soundtrack and this awesome song about a secret bonus room (both written by a guy named Terry Scott Taylor) that just blew my mind. I’ve always loved the way that song broke the rules about what music in a game is supposed to do, so it was great to have the opportunity to do something fun and unusual like that. Thanks for all your kind comments about it.
The cake is a lie!!!!!
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’d 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
And while you’re dying I’ll be still alive
And when you’re dead I will be still alive
Still alive
Still alive
CHORDS:
D Bm (repeat like crazy) This was a triumph... Em A It's hard to overstate my satisfaction D Bm (repeat like crazy) Aperture Science... Em A For the good of all of us BbM7 Except the ones who are dead F C Bb F But there's no sense crying over every mistake F C Bb F You just keep on trying till you run out of cake Gm C F Dm And the science gets done and you make a neat gun Bb A D Bm (repeat some more) For the people who are still alive
October 15th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
This song was the perfect capstone on a truly brilliant game. Ellen’s voicework for GLaDOS, Chet & Erik’s writing, and then this funny but heart-wrenching song were all spot-on… to say nothing of the awesome gameplay design behind it all.
PS, saw you in Houston, it was a great show. Pirates notwithstanding.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Thanks for laying out all the facts. I, for one, have had a great time watching the buzz on this song grow. I can’t get Orange Box (Mac/Wii) so I was really glad to get the YouTube links so I could feel like part of it all.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
It’s definitely one of the best ending sequences in gaming.
It’s one of those results that occurs because there are such perfect ingredients going into it - they do a stellar job of developing GLaDOS’s character throughout what is at its core not really a character driven game, the gameplay is some of the most innovative stuff ever (and damned fun), and the real key is that they created a character who somehow manages to believably serenade its prodigal test subject throughout the entire end credits sequence.
I hope that Valve follows through with the availability of the track - and I expect them to, as they’re one of the better gaming companies out there for making material available. (Publicizing the song is really in everyone’s best interests anyway)
The cake… is a lie!
October 15th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
It’s funny, as soon as I saw it was you (read the lyric credit on the PA post today), it made perfect sense, as it fits your lyrical style perfectly (it ought to, after all).
Also, Jesss: get Boot Camp and install Windows for Portal alone! I promise it’s worth it!
October 15th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Awesome song, totally keeping with the brilliant humour of Portal. This perfectly capped what might be one of the smartest, wittiest games I’ve ever played. So good to see you getting this kind of exposure as well. I hear this Orange Box thing is kind of popular.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Our whole community at icrontic.com is in love with your song right now. I’ve always been a firm believer that the music makes the game (has anyone ever played a game called Alternate Reality from the mid 80’s?), and I just had to post here to tell you that your music took an already great game and moved it into the realm of “exceptional”. This is one of those things that will go down in history as one of the best game songs ever written
Valve sure did something grand with this franchise - just the right mix of game, graphics, character, innovation, and of course - music.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I’m addicted to the song. When my girlfriend leaves me over the constant repetition of “Look at me talking when there’s science to do” can I sue JoCo?
A serious question for the Portal players out there: can I play it on my macbook running WindowsXP under VMWare?
Thanks for the great tunes, JC.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
The question is, will you treat us to this song when you’re here in Atlanta?
October 15th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
You’re on EvAv radio tonight? I’ll be listening.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
One of the things I love the most about your songwriting is your ability to write from the perspective of the subject, in a first-person setting. Of course, it always helps to have your sense of humor and emotion, and your special way of expressing those feelings without dumbing it down or holding back.
There’s something very satisfying about getting the inside jokes you put in your songs, as well.
Again, congrats on another wonderful song! Thanks for enriching our lives!
October 15th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
What an awesome surprise at the end of the game. It was a great and humorously written game, and your song fit in so damn well. I love it - you ROCK.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Love the song, although I won’t have the Orange Box till next week. I did, however, hear some people singing “Still Alive” out the in hall this weekend. It was a little strange.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I wish I had the songwriting ability to write a song about how much I love this song.
Wait…
October 15th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I finished Portal thinking, “How could this game possibly be any more awesome?” Then… it gets more awesome.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You turned an inspired and brilliant game into an inspired, brilliant game with a perfect ending.
The cake is a lie.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
If this song doesn’t go all viral on you within the next few weeks, I’ll eat my press badge. To hell with cake, I think we all know what the treat was at the end of Portal…
Thanks.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Ukulele? You’re gonna put me and Kristen out of a job!
Seriously though, what kind of uke did you get?
October 15th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Ah, this explains what some gamers I know were going on about this morning. I think you may have just made yourself a lot of new fans…
October 15th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I can’t stop listening to the song. Well done.
Come to Austin again. You’re making it really easy for me to convince all my coworkers to be fans.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Perfect end to a perfect game with perfect lyrics, perfect sharps and perfect flats; my gaming moment of the year.
Well done Jonathan.
October 15th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
The song at the end was the frosting on the cake!
I love how it cements the fact that Aperture Laboratories is the place you go to work when you can’t get a job at Black Mesa. Between the song and that eye-gouging powerpoint presentation you stumble across towards the end of the game, it gives a nice sense of “place” to where you’ve been goofing off with the portal gun all this time.
My wife hates me for playing the song over and over, by the way. But I just can’t stop myself.
October 15th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Hi.
In all honesty I never heard of you till I played Portal and enjoyed the end song so much I done a bit of digging and found your blog (checking for your other tracks ony outube as I type). So I just want to say thanks for an awesome track that kept me watching the credits and you done a superb job.
Thanks again.
October 15th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I read your blog post about how you had a song in the Orange box before it came out, so I knew there was one in there before I heard it. As soon as I beat portal, I went “Ah, this must be it!”
I love this song, I think it nails GLaDOS’ personality perfectly, the way she keeps proclaiming “I’m doing science!” as proudly as a computer can, the same way a kid mixing random chemicals together from a chemistry set might, despite there being nothing particularly scientific about what they’re doing.
I don’t often laugh out loud at games, but I couldn’t help it during the credits for Portal. There’s just something so RIGHT about ending that game with this song. I wouldn’t be surprised if you find gaming sites nominating Portal for “Best soundtrack” at least a couple of times because of this song.
Good work mr. Coulton!
October 15th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
hahah.
love love loved it!
especially the black mesa tie in.
October 15th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
October 15th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Thanks so much for this song - it was such a fantastic payoff for a wonderful game. The icing on the “cake”, so to speak!
October 15th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
I just want you to know that I have listened to this song roughly fifty times since I beat the game first. Of your many songs that have gotten stuck in my head, this sure is the getting-stuck-in-headiest.
October 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
just another person checking in to say:
i beat portal last night and have listened to your song atleast 10 times since then. it was the perfect icing on the cake.
funny you mention, because ’still alive’ reminded me of skull monkey’s ‘bonus room’ just because they’re both different and hilarious video game songs.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
By iTunes’ count I’ve listened to Still Alive at least 68 times in the past 2 days.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Haven’t stopped singing/playing this song since I heard it. Also, full tablature is at http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/j/jonathan_coulton/still_alive_tab.htm
October 15th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Also, if you record a version with your vocals, you should get Ellen’s as well, use the same distortion she used on your voice and do a duet
October 15th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Great song! I reiterate again, as many people have said, it was the perfect, unexpected ending to Portal.
It seems cool that Valve would approach someone to have them write a song for their game.
And to answer dt’s post up above, no, no virtual machine at the moment can handle 3D acceleration well, which is required for pretty much any game in this day and age. VMWare, Parallels, and such will not be able to run any steam game, or, if it can, very VERY slowly.
WINE in Linux doesn’t count, as it’s an emulator of sorts. It can handle the game decently, but due to lack of good video card drivers under Linux, the performance isn’t so good.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Continuing the awesomeness as always. Sadly, I’ve yet to be able to play portal, however, I have been digging the song. Oh, sure, I be a little spoilered for when I finally get around to playing it, but it’s worth it.
I’ve already made my Game Master very sick of the song by playing it in the between classes time. ^_^
October 15th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Ok, my genius friend (cant take credit for this) pointed this out to me.
GLaDOS, (voice of the song) (boss),etc. was very important in the game.
In “Still Alive”(great song) (THAT WAS A JOKE HAHA FAT CHANCE)jk, the word “glad” appears twice. In the ending of the game portal, each of the “glad”s is spelt GLaD both times. Take the original “GLaD”, the number of times used in the song (2), translate “2″/two to spanish, you get dos.
Put GLaD and DOS together, you get GLaDOS. Back to my second sentence… Don’t things like this make you wonder?!
October 15th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
I hope you add this one to your live repertoire. It’s brilliant! (Not that the rest of your stuff isn’t…)
October 15th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Brilliant! When I heard the song I was just rolling, but when I realized it was you it made perfect sense! Beautifully done, and there is nobody I’d rather wrap up an episode of terrorizing robot mayhem with.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Fantastic song. When I heard it begin during the credits I had to stop and listen. Then find out where I could have it. Yes. Much like my quest for cake, I found the song and enjoyed every last morsel.
Kudos.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:19 am
LOVE this song.
@everybody above talking about vmware and wine. Forget VMWare - you can’t virtualize fast enough. And vanilla wine might work, but what you’re looking for is Crossover. There’s a Mac version too, and a couple of other Source games are officially supported, so Portal ought to work.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:35 am
God, I love this song. It *made* the ending of Portal. I’m still grinning like an idiot. Thank you so much!
October 16th, 2007 at 1:02 am
@netcrusher88: actually you _can_ virtualize fast enough if your hardware is quite thoroughly beefy, and VMWare has a relatively recent doodad that will suck OpenGL commands through a portal and out onto the host machine, meaning you can get acceptably accelerated graphics. Similar functionality is avilable from a couple late-alpha/early-beta open source projects as well.
Of course, you still have to deal with the hassles that are Windows and Steam…
October 16th, 2007 at 2:22 am
The portal game - is the thing i was dreamed hmm.. maybe for about 5 years or more…
I’ve thinked about portals and fun things that they can made, maked many scratch concept shemes in my notepad… but ofcourse i don’t have resources to do it by myself (even simple concept demo)… I’ve thought - why nobody make that great things..? Nobody see the power of portals? :/
…and finally! Here is it!… Made by Valve! I’m shocked… and happy.
GREAT GAME…… And GERAT SONG in the ending! Thank you!
/me trying to play chords right now… hehe :]
October 16th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Some people from the Steam forums have noted that the chords aren’t quite correct, and some seem to be missing.
Any word from the man himself?
madpistol:
“”And the science gets done and you make a neat gun”
Doesn’t it sound like there should be an Em between the F and Dm chords?
Just a tid bit of music theory for anyone that cares.
EDIT: Actually, I just listened to the song. Here are the chords that my ear tells me for that section:
FM, Em, Dm, CM, BbM… AM, back to DM…..
res213ch:
You are correct about the Em, I think the it is implied in the bass note walkdown F-E-D. I’m still not sure of what follows that Bb to get back to D. A is the closest I’ve found but it doesn’t seem exactly right. Ah well, it’s probably my horrible ear.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:00 am
The game ruled every second was a thrill. Plus its pretty cool that you were part of this as well. Keep up the great tunes. peace.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:14 am
I just want to add my voice to the fans here. I don’t know exactly what it was, but Portal - and GLaDOS specifically - really struck a chord with me, and your song not only tied up the game but actually added a depth and breadth to her character. And in an incredibly clever, brilliant song with fabulous music! Maybe it’s just because the first character I ever cried for in a movie was “Edgar” from “Electric Dreams”. I don’t know, but GLaDOS is Edgar’s spiritual sister, and “Still Alive” is a perfect evolution from the Giorgio Moroder/Jeff Lynne/Phil Oakey songs on that soundtrack.
I can’t stop smiling, and I can’t remember the last time a song did that for me. Thank you!
October 16th, 2007 at 3:28 am
Terry Scott Taylor! He made The Neverhood one of my all-time favorite games, with his music. It makes me misty that JoCo shares my appreciation for him.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:46 am
Fucking amazing song. I can’t even explain it better than that.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:47 am
in the first chorus is there no E bridge.
in the second chorus, there is a passing chord between F and d. However, it is not e minor or E Major. Either would sound horrible there. Only an inversion of a C chord would properly fit there. The closest description of that chord is a C7 dominant with bass of E (the little electric guitar thingy plays a Bb there).
anyways who cares it lasts a total of 0.5 seconds.
and res213ch, the chord after Bb is indeed A.
anyway i love this song and its quirky chord transitions between verse/chorus; i found the abrupt Bb chords right before each chorus very effective because they fit well with the humor of the lines… e.g. “except the ones who are dead”
man i want to get into the music industry too
October 16th, 2007 at 4:02 am
[...] stessa voce “robotica” che ci accompagna costantemente in tutto il prosieguo del gioco. Tra l’altro, Still Alive è stata scritta da Jonathan Coulton, che ha menzionato ieri nel suo …Nello stesso post è presente il testo intero della canzone, che mi auguro possiate ascoltare [...]
October 16th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Best song ever!!
October 16th, 2007 at 6:01 am
A funny and clever song, which made one of the best games I’ve played even better. I’ve played the included mp3 at least ten times today, and will continue to do so until I get it out of my head (if ever). Thank you.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Can’t really add much to what all the other peeps have already said.
This was a fantastic ending to a fantastic game and you deserve tons of praise for realizing it.
Congrats!
October 16th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Brilliant song. The video game sites are abuzz. While it’s too bad you did the song under work-for-hire (or at least it sounds that way?) the bright side is you’re getting a TON of new fans…the exposure will sell plenty of albums! I for one never heard of you, but plan to buy your stuff now.
You really should consider doing an album of robot like songs and have that Ellen woman sing them. That would be amazing and I bet you could get that all over the radio too.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:06 am
^Yes. This exactly. A whole album full of crazed artificial intelligence ex-girlfriend-type songs would be awesome. Hell, even with different women worked into it, for different voices.
It would be brilliant, I say!
October 16th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I saw the game announcement something like a year ago with the trailer and thought that looks awesome. I bought it and was not at all disappointed but when I completed the game and heard the song i thought ‘man that is to cool, I wonder who wrote it’. I read the credits and its OMG IT’s JoCo!!!
Love your work, I went to your annapolis “strange” concert and was floored to see you penning music for the coolest game of the year. Continued success.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Congratulations on a great tune. By the way, did you get any background info other than your advanced play through of the game? A lot of fans are now spinning whole conspiracy theories out of your lyrics. Just thought you’d want to know
October 16th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Man, this has to be one of the awesomest ending theme I’ve ever heard in any media, ranking up there with “Where Is My Mind?” on Fight Club and “Reenact” on Killer 7. All of them fit so perfectly. Great work, Jonathan!
October 16th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I got my copy of the Orange Box yesterday and my favorite part of Portal thus far has been the salsa/muzak version of “Still Alive” at the very beginning of the game.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Jarrod said:
“I don’t know, but GLaDOS is Edgar’s spiritual sister, and “Still Alive” is a perfect evolution from the Giorgio Moroder/Jeff Lynne/Phil Oakey songs on that soundtrack.”
Hehehe! That’s exactly what I thought when I heard “Still Alive”.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
HOLY CRAP! I AM FOREVER INDEBTED TO YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING POSTING OF THE CORDS!!!!
*Finishes HW So I can practice …*
TY
TY
TY
TY
TY
TY
TY
TY
TY
And there is some speculation on weather that cake really IS A lie or not )_)
October 16th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I just wanted to commend you for a really awesome piece of work. Portal is one of the best games I’ve played in a long while, and the pain of its ending was slightly tempered by one of the best end songs I’ve heard in any game. Kudos on a great achievement, and thanks for bringing more than a few smiles to my face.
October 16th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
[...] “I’m not even angry I’m being so sincere right now Even though you broke my heart and kill… [...]
October 16th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Well, like everyone have said already…LOVE THE SONG! I was laughing so hard, tears….tears…on the side of my face! (as Mrs. White would say from Clue). I just adore the writing in the game and you just tight all in a nice little cake box and put a bow on top. It’s a perfect song, for a great game. By far THE BEST VIDEO GAME ENDING in such a loooooooong time! I think it might be tide with Metroid’s revelation that Samus was a girl….IS THAT LEVEL of great moments in life man!
Thanks so much for saying “YES” to a very obvious question when Valve aproch you. I don’t think any one would have done that good of a job. All things happen for a reason…so at the end we get cake!
PS: Skullmonkey, my fav game in a long time. I see my self holding on to portal and portal’s song the same way I do with Skullmonkey.
PPS: It would be funny to have a cd of GLadDOS sing her favorites like “Well isnt that Ironic” and “It’s the end of the world (as we know it)” LOL.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
JoCo,
You are so brilliant that I’ve invented a new term which I will use to refer to you.
See if you can find it in the following statement.
“Everything about ‘Still Alive’ smacks of genius. From the simple opening with just voice and guitar, to the hilarious harmonies as the song swells and abates (how did he manage to make ‘funny’ harmonies?? It sounds impossible, but he did it), the song perfectly captures the tone of the villanous GlaDOS and the overlapping simplicity of the game’s story. Truly, Jonathan Coultan’s ingeniosity knows no bounds.”
October 16th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I’m in the music business.
You can want to be in the music business.
But the cake is a LIE in the music business
October 16th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
You are seriously amazing. Thank you for such a wonderful song. I can’t stop listening =x
October 16th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Missed you at PAX.
Saw you in SF.
Heard you (not really) in Portal.
When the game ended, I couldn’t stop laughing through the song. So. Funny. I actually missed your credit near the end.
So I started searching Youtube for the song, because I loved it so much.
And THAT was when I found out it was you.
And I thought…Duh. Of COURSE it was Coulton.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I implore you, JoCo — give us a $10 cake option (yeah, I’m a cheapskate) to go along with the monkeys, robots and bananas. Even if just for a limited time. Sooo many people would buy a cake to thank you for “Still Alive.”
October 17th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Hey there, I was raving about Portal just recently on my weblog:
http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/000505.html
And I was just now looking for a version with you singing it as well, and found this entry. What a joy that song was, how much more it made the game at the end.
And I had been straining to think of any time a game contained a song that was, itself, a meta-spoof of the game it was in, and I had thought, just a day or two ago, how “Little Bonus Room” from Skullmonkeys was that very song… and I see you heard it too and were inspired by it!
Of course, “Little Bonus Room” is about the level, and not the experience of using clay to tell a story or anything like that, so you still come on top.
Here’s the lyrics to “Little Bonus Room”. Well worth searching out.
The Lil’ Bonus Room
Here’s a little bonus room, because I know you’ve had it tough
Here’s a little bonus tune, about collecting real cool stuff.
Yes, here’s a little bonus room, where you can play.
Don’t be frightened, don’t run away.
You can linger, ‘cuz I’m your video friend.
Think of me as a father figure, with a hand to lend.
Here’s a little bonus room, where you don’t have to worry.
Take your sweet time, you need not hurry.
Oh, you’re looking incredible, you’re the bomb!
and me, I’m kind of like your dad, and a little like your mom.
There are no Monsters here, hey wait, look over there.
I was just kidding, don’t be scared.
and when you turn this game off, in the real world once again,
You won’t have to play make-believe, or try to pretend.
‘cuz I’ll be right there when you open your hand,
‘cuz I’m your little invisible musical friend.
So, show me to your pets, or show me to your pals.
You really will impress every nifty guy and gal.
Show them you are individual, show them you are BOLD!
Besides, I get residuals for every game that’s sold.
I’m your little invisible musical friend for life.
I’ll never leave you.
October 17th, 2007 at 12:42 am
[...] along. Now the person who does the voice is Ellen McLain, however the person who wrote the song was Jonathan Coulton (click on name, links to his blog post “Portal:The Skinny”), who has done other songs [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 1:17 am
[...] if you plan to play the game, I suspect. It was apparently written by Jonathan Coulton and sung by Ellen McLain (voice of GLaDOS and the [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 2:00 am
It was so catchy, in fact, that the only way I could exorcise it from my head was to sit down at the piano and figure it out myself. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQrSYLYtltU)
October 17th, 2007 at 2:03 am
Ok, I just wanted to tell my story real quick because it totally blew my mind.
I finally bought portal today and played my way straight through, enjoying every moment of the game. Then the satisfaction of completing the game pales in comparison by being congratulated by the song “Still Alive.” I instantly loved it, and went to complete the last level 3 more times just to hear the song.
After my third or so listen, I had a thought. “Wow, this sounds a whole lot like Jonathan Coulton’s music. So I googled “Who wrote “still alive” in portal?” Before I knew it I came to this page.
I couldn’t believe it, I love your music and to have your fingerprints on this groundbreaking game is amazing. Congradulations and thank you for putting the icing on the cake……. or…… no cake……… it’s a lie you know ;-p
October 17th, 2007 at 2:04 am
The is the best game ending ever. It gave me goosebumps (literally) for the perfect storm of lyrics, melody, great voice, and ascii art. I hadn’t realized you were involved with the game, but it was ‘aha’ as soon as I saw your name in the credits.
The melody is a little simple for your stuff, but it fits perfectly with the stilted computer voice so that’s not a complaint.
This is on repeat play at work, and I’m not the only one. Everyone joins in for the ‘Now these points of data make a beautiful line…’ bit.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:55 am
OK, so last week I was a Mac/Wii owner like Jesss far above me in this thread. No Xbox, no PS3. I was going to play the game with Boot Camp (and yes, that would normally work just fine) but my Mac is a little too old and low-end to pull it off.
So I went out and bought an Xbox 360 just to play Portal.
It was totally worth it!! What an incredible game! Your song truly makes the whole package shine, Jonathan. Yes, I know there’s lots of great content in The Orange Box, but hearing your song was easily the best moment I’ve had with it yet. I’m telling all my coworkers about JoCo now, and they’re loving you too. Even my wife Steph likes the song, and that’s really high praise. She’s usually in the, “Geeky stuff, whatever,” camp.
Your lyrics are so perfect, and… well, I could go on and on.
Keep up the incredibly great work!! I hope I can see you live sometime soon, JC.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:20 am
“I feel fantastic” - well done, JoCo
I hope to hear the song soon.
October 17th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
[...] Link [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
This song will indeed be a part of video game history.
October 17th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
[...] Jonathan Coulton’s Portal post, I find 6 things very interesting. [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
I must say, you never cease to amaze me with your music. I hope this experience opens up more opportunities for you to work with music in the future with other game companies.
I also agree with hax that this song will go down in video game history.
Keep up the great work!
October 17th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
This was a triumph.
I’m making a note here, HUGE SUCCESS!
October 17th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Yahtzee put a little blurb in at the end of his video review for HL2: Ep2 and Orange Box, regarding JoCo’s song:
“There’s an awesome song in Portal by Jonathan Coulton, he’s one of my favourite artists and you should check out http://www.jonathancoulton.com if you like upbeat folk rock about robots”
The review is really funny, and filled with profane language (as usual).
You can view the video here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2541-Zero-Punctuation-The-Orange-Box
October 17th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
best…song…ever!!!
October 17th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
[...] Jonathan Coulton, autore di questa magnifica sigla meriterebbe un Oscar solo per essere riuscito a scrivere un testo azzeccatissimo, che in meno di tre minuti riassume l’intera trama della mentalità deviata di GLaDOS! [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I know this makes me lame, but I’d never heard of you until portal, and until I watched Yahtzee do his thing over at the escapist today, I had no idea you wrote this song. But I ran an aux cable from my computer to my girlfriend’s and recorded the damn thing(sounds great, I’ll pay good money for it when it becomes available!) because I had to have it. Made me an instant fan. Thanks thanks and double thanks.
October 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
[...] Può un brano che è stato scritto per i titoli di coda di un videogioco e cantato da una voce femminile robotica passare in testa alla classifica di ‘melodia più orecchiabile dell’anno’? L’autore Jonathan Coulton racconta come “Still Alive”, composta per Portal, sia diventata un hit underground. [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I figured it out! The light chords at the beginning (before the song really kicks in) remind me quite a bit of the theme to Cool Hand Luke.
Reasons why “Still Alive” is badass: +1
October 17th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
I’m not cool. I couldn’t even begin to guess where cool goes to hang out when I go to bed because I have to go to work in the morning. But I do know what I like. This song? I like. Too much, probably. When one of my cubicle dwelling coworkers goes berserk and murders all of us, they’ll ask him, for the love of humanity, why? And he’ll say (for it WILL be a he, you know that, right?) something along the lines of, “It was that fucking song…he just kept playing it over and over and over and OVER! I HAD to make it stop, man! (grabs camera) YOU STILL ALIVE NOW, DUDE? HUH?!?”
I apologize for the coarse language, but let’s be fair: a fair number of cubicle dwellers’ innards are now festooned about the office like so much silly string and Floam(tm) soaked in cranberry wine, and you’re going to lecture me about potty-mouth words? People are dead! Have some sense of perspective, for God’s sake!
Ahem.
I have always watched the full credits after an end-game, but never craved to do so again and again. Thanks heavens I figured out how to extract the MP3 file from the game files so I can drive others crazy. (Don’t worry, they won’t get the file from me…it’s only for my use as a licensed operator of the software.)
October 17th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Damn, it was a BbM7.. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
[...] Vía [Jonathan Coulton] [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Wonderful game, wonderful song. I especially love the part “even though you broke my heart and killed me… and tore me to pieces… and threw every piece into a fire.” That is a masterpiece of perfectly-timed black comedy.
Expect the cover version to explode onto the internet in the coming days.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
I really enjoyed the game and the song was a fantastic icing on the cake! I thought one of the best things about the game was the reactions of the turrets and their voicing? was the voice acting on those also Ellen McLain? One of the most memorable “characters” i’ve seen in a game.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
I CAME!!!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
LOVE the song. And the fact you mentioned the Skull Monkey’s bonus song is even better. You rock!
October 17th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
What I want to know is, did Valve request that the song have GLaDoS saying she was still alive? I’d have to think so… otherwise it would be pretty strange to say she was when in fact she was not.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
[...] Portal: The Skinny [Jonathan Coulton] [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Best ending credits in a video game ever. Period.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:13 am
this is great stuff. easily one of my favorite parts of the game. jonathon coulton, you are my new hero. i sat here and learned to play this easy/catchy tune. now i got a surprise for my friends. thanks!
October 18th, 2007 at 12:16 am
[...] in Jonathan Coulton’s contribution to the title. Read more about “Still Alive” on JoCo’s site. Tags: gabe newell, jonathan coulton, portal, the orange box, valve, video games, webcomic Share [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 12:18 am
I haven’t played the game yet (Mac user with no Boot Camp and no 360), and I’m a little ashamed to say I heard this song on the internet… but… thank you. This song is GREAT. Combined with the end credits, it is a laugh riot, and very catchy/singable as well!
Thanks so much for a song that’s really brightened my day.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Such a great song. I really enjoyed it, and it made such a bad day good when I beat portal and got to hear that. I didn’t original know it was you but I heard the “I feel fantastic and I’m still alive” and I thought of one of your other songs, and low and behold it was you all along.
Great job.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Brilliant. Brilliant!!!
October 18th, 2007 at 1:00 am
[...] only is the singer/writer of Code Monkey lyrically very amusing, he also landed the allegedly hilarious ending theme for Portal. I may be experiencing this on the [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 2:07 am
[...] (SPOILERS) Web de Jonathan Coulton [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Hey Jonathan, great job with the song and I like it a lot! It’s the perfect way to tie up the game and also, thank you so much for making the chords available. Saved tons of time trying to figure them out
All the best in all of your future endeavors and take care!
October 18th, 2007 at 6:33 am
[...] the story behind the song which, if you’ve not finished the game yet, you should read as soon as you have. These [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 7:05 am
Best game ever. I love the Portal team and want their babies.
Just like to point out, that in the Still Alive transcript you have above, the line:
“So I’m glad I got burned, think of all the things…”
where-as in the ending text display it appears as:
“So I’m GLaD. I got burned. Think of all the things…”
The difference is subtle yet significant as it changes the meaning completely. This is also ‘cleverly’ disguised in the way it is sung.
Sam
October 18th, 2007 at 7:22 am
as already pointed out earlier, your song helped to make a damn good game into a really exceptional one!
great job!
i am looking forward to picking up the song via steam or itunes (as long as it is being officially released) the moment it comes out.
andy
October 18th, 2007 at 8:35 am
I just followed a link from Kotaku. All I have to say is, thank you for the most memorable ending to any game I’ve ever had. I wish you the best in your future and hope to hear more from you in other games.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:57 am
I’m also here from Kotaku; I played through Portal in one sitting with my girlfriend (She’s not a gamer, but she loved the game!). I’m really GLaD (See what I did there? =p) Valve made such an approachable, casual gamer friendly, short and brilliant game. The last level had us glued to my monitor trying to guess what would happen next.
Anyway, the ending song was the highlight of the game for us (And that’s quite a compliment since we think very highly of this game). The music, lyrics, and overal feel of the song is absolutely perfect! You got her personality down flawlessly; I can’t wait until it’s released on Steam!
I’m sorry to hear I don’t remember listening to your music before; but you can bet I will listen to the rest of your work this weekend (I hope I can find you on iTunes). I sincerely hope you work with Valve or other developers in the future, at this point your involvement in a project would definitely be a selling point for me with Lyrics like these!
October 18th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Portal is awesome and this song is awesome and you are awesome.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I’ll be the first to say but this song actually choked me up a bit and gave me the misty eye for the tragedy suffered by both victims in the phenomenal game portal (3 if you count weighted companion cube).
It seems to me to reflect the potential disasters we may be driving ourselves towards.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
[...] map: Portal (Weighted Companion Cube zum selber basteln, Jonathan Coultron) [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
BRAVO! Bravo! Absolutely perfect! Very very good job! Keep up the good work.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Sheer genius.
You finish the game and are treated to cake and a fantastic song sung by a pyschotic AI.
It simply couldn’t get any better…!
October 18th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Just finished Portal. Awesome!…
Just finished playing through portal. It was the most enjoyable ending and credit sequence i’ve ever seen in a game, and I’ve played a lot of games!
The antagonist computer chick was also one of the best characters in a game so far. Lea…
October 18th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I yanked the song off of some myspace site that was hosting it, and since then have been playing it in the car.
I’ve been looking for an excuse to learn to sing and play guitar at the same time, and I think i just found it.
October 18th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Just another one here to say that I discovered you through Portal and have since bought your entire catalog. Thanks so much for giving us this great music!
October 18th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I second Ian’s question: What kind of uke???
October 18th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
It’s a Mele Ukulele, which I bought mainly for the way those two words sound together: http://www.meleukulele.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=24
October 18th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
You should release some CD+G files for us karaoke nerds. I’d do my best robot chick voice to sing the portal song at karaoke. Or re: your brains!
October 18th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I can’t seem to get your songs out of my head. First it was Code Monkeys on G4TV, and after Portal, I was driven find out who Jonathan Coulton is and ended up here. You are on my short list of favorite artists. I get 481 hits on YouTube when searching your name. Any favorite ones to suggest? Thanks.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Sangjmoon,
I recommend The Future Soon. Spiff has a great video using WOW. If you look on the forums page, there are some recommendations for new JoCo listeners.
Welcome!
October 19th, 2007 at 1:01 am
Jonathan,
some friends of mine sent me Still Alive and we all laughed and loved it. I kept thinking as I listened, “I wonder if this guy has ever heard Terry Taylor’s Skullmonkey’s soundtrack?!
It’s very kind of you to mention his influence. I was among the creators of Skullmonkeys and chose Terry Taylor to do the music because he wrote outside of the box. WHen we commissioned the Skullmonkeys bonus level I gave a vague assignment, “Write a bonus level song about a bonus level”…what Terry brought it blew our minds and left us on the floor screaming in laughter. The song ended up being my favorite memory of the game.
While Terry’s song blew the box open, your song disintegrated the box into another dimension. Well done. I wish more gamers were pioneers like you and the brave Portal folks. Keep going!
October 19th, 2007 at 4:41 am
[...] after that great “Still Alive” ditty. And, obviously, I’m not the only one. Jonathan Coulton, the genius behind the best damn end credits song ever made, reveals the inside scoop on how the [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 6:44 am
The Skullmonkeys bonus room song was the main reason I got the excellent Imaginarium album. I never finished Skullmonkeys, since it’s horribly difficult, but whenever I played it I specifically got to the bonus room just to hear the music.
Imaginarium also has music from The Neverhood which is a wonderful game with great music. You can get the album here: http://www.danielamos.com/store/
October 19th, 2007 at 9:17 am
So so brilliant. Amazing song, totally fit the unique personality and made the game
Wish you more luck in the future and hope to hear more from you!
October 19th, 2007 at 10:10 am
[...] experience of writing the end theme for Valve
October 19th, 2007 at 11:54 am
[...] Jonathan Coulton buys his first ukulele and puts the Doifter out of a job. [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I’ve had that song in my head all day (here it Friday, and I finished the game 4 days ago, and decided to google it (again) just to see what people were saying about it and the game in general. I never imagined I would find the blog of the genius that wrote it.
Damn fine job sir - you are the icing on the Portal cake.
Thank you.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Just great work, i’m just loving “Still Alive”.
We should see it on the Billboards
but… the cake is a lie
With regards
October 19th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I’ve been a long time fan of yours, and discovery of this song basically elevated my appreciation of your talents to near stalker-like levels (I mean that in the most complementary way possible and don’t worry, I live on the opposite end of the continent). You, sir, are awesome. My sequined hat off to you!
October 19th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
[...] Portal: The Skinny [JonathanCoulton.com] (Sorry about the missing link!) [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I love this songs and also the game very much. Thx for the great work
ps. The first time I’d listern to it and read the lyrics it’s quite scary XD
October 19th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
[...] Coulton, who composed a song for the game, wrote about his experience working with Valve (and posted lyrics and [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
[...] At the end of Portal there’s a very cool song called “Still Alive” that plays over the end credits. Jonathon Coulton is the musician behind the song and he talks about writing and recording the song on his blog here. [...]
October 20th, 2007 at 2:31 am
Is there any chance of listening to the original unmodified “Still Alive” version?
She has such an amazing voice, I’d like to know what it sounded like before being processed to sound computerized!
October 20th, 2007 at 2:42 am
Great song, made me think of TMBG (They Might Be Giants)
October 20th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Hey, hope you dont mind, but I uploaded your tab along with the video at myvideotab.com
Beautiful song!
October 20th, 2007 at 9:13 am
That’s the best song I’ve ever head someone wrote about anything
October 20th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Great work! You helped create what is possibly the greatest ending in gaming history!
October 20th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Portal was one of the best games I’ve ever played, and Still Alive was by far the best conclusion to it I could imagine. You did an incredible job.
October 20th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
[...] Song:Background Portal:Home Page [...]
October 20th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Awesome Song! All your music rocks, man!
October 20th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Absolute addictive Song !
Never played the Game, stumbled across the song through Boingboing i think ( bit drunk, late/early morning in Germany right now)
But i reinforced the song min. 10 times since the last 3h in my playlist …
Congrats for this song. (Additionally i´am ordering Orangebox tomorrow i think, never planned it … )
October 20th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I love the song
I keep making cake references to all situations, and I laugh everytime I hear that sentence : “keep trying till you run out of cake”. The song reflects the computer character really well, good job there!
October 21st, 2007 at 1:48 am
So, I saved the game at the very end… just so I can go in and listen to the song whenever I want. The first time I beat it, I had to go in and listen to it at least three more times. And then of course I decided to look up the lyrics so I can sing it at work, which was how I ended up here, right now. I beat the game less than two hours ago, and here I am, hounding your blog.
October 21st, 2007 at 2:41 am
I have been a fan for several months now and played a CD of your stuff for some of the guys at work several weeks ago (Spread the word!). Every one of them loved your stuff. Then, last week one of them comes up to me an says “The ending credit song in Portal is by that Jonathan Coulton guy.” I was skeptical , so I checked the website, and lo and behold, he was right! Knowing that song was there forced me to buy the Orange Box. Bravo! Masterpiece! Be sure to let Valve know that your song is selling games.
October 21st, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Great Song, Really made this game, I completed it today after learning yesterday evening that I could now play it.. (wish Steam had notified me earlier) - I’ve repeated the song several times tonight already, so massive congrats to you Jonathan for a brilliant song! it really made the game.
October 21st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
[...] Still Alive — from the end credits of the video game “Dial-a-Song”, and created by Jonathan Coulton [...]
October 21st, 2007 at 10:21 pm
I love the song, especially the humor. My only complaint is the synthed voice. I understand the reasoning behind it, but if you could, is there ANYway that we could get a straight version of the voice. I LOVE the song but that is the only thing that bothers me a bit. But really, un-synthed voice would be awesome.
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:34 am
This song isn’t even a work of art, but a work of pure genius. In all reality it made the game worth buying, and gave you a nice, and much needed break from the brain stressing apparatus that is portal. The song is a perfect end to the game, and you got the character so perfect it’s scary. If only you were in more games. At the same time, I also wish more games were as sarcastic and funny as portal.
-ScM
P.S. Keep up the good work, one can only hope to catch one of your shows, that is if you play in the Seattle area.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:49 am
How is it that Jonathan Coulton can so perfectly express the feelings of psychopaths in song? Makes you wonder, don’t it?
I didn’t know who wrote the song when I first finished the game (and I was laughing too hard at the song and notes scrolling by to pay attention to the credits), so I had to play through the final boss fight twice. And then it all made perfect sense - it had Jonathan’s phrasing all over it. Pure genius.
The song has its own myspace page (http://myspace.com/portalsong) - I expect it’s playing as the soundrack of lots of pages with unreadable text, barfolicious color choice, and crap blinking everywhere.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:54 am
[...] got the gig in the manner he recently described on his blog a week ago. Fleshing things out for me, he explained that it was Valve’s Kim Swift who approached [...]
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:37 am
Thank you. the ending credits song really made this game. you did a really great job capturing the essence of the game and the charater and really made this song awesome…
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Jonathan, just wanted to say that it was an absolutely perfect song for the ending. Great music, great words. =)
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Thank you for this fantastic song ! We really feel the personnality of the crazy computer in it !
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I pulled the song from one of the Portal archive files and put it into iTunes because my kids just love it (they are 11, 11, and 8). Last night after dinner they put the song on repeat play and proceeded to memorize it over the course of half an hour or longer. They even are working on a dance routine for it. I told them if they put a whole routine together I’ll make a video of them for YouTube.
Then I’m going to come find you.
With cake.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I wanted to thank you for throwing up the lyrics and chords. I plan on playing this and adding it to our little bands repertoire! It’s one of those great memorable game songs like Maybe by the Inkspots from Fallout (another of our favorite songs to play).
Thanks!
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Not really expecting a response here, but do you possibly plan on releasing a karaoke track to compliment the release? I certainly hope so!
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:15 am
Portal’s legendary, that song is legendary, you’re a legend. =)
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:04 am
Any post that mentions The Lil’ Bonus Room and gets a comment from Doug TenNapel is a win. “There are no monsters here, oh wait, look over there!”
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
Another epic win from JoCo! I’ve been a fan since the “Baby Got Back” days, and I was overjoyed to see and hear your work in portal.
I’ve also set about a little shop with ascii art and nerdy in-jokes:
http://www.cafepress.com/the_cake_isalie
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
Just had to leave a note - your song made an amazing game simply unforgettable
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
[...] Machtig goed. Lees meer bij Jonathan Coulton. [...]
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Hey Jonathan! This is the best ending to a game…ever.
As I’ve been commenting all over the ‘net, Valve makes outstanding games. I’ve already awarded the best opening to Half Life 1. So now they also have best ending, and your song makes a huge part of what makes this ending so great.
Well done…
Can’t wait for the dance remix
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Slashdot’s review of Portal called Still Alive “one of the best game songs ever made”.
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:48 pm
The song rocks! The game is awesome!
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Not much to say other than loved the song, sought out who you were so that I could leave a note showing appreciation for your work and wishing you well.
All the best, great job!
October 24th, 2007 at 2:18 am
BEST game ending ever!
Awesome game too - my boyfriend and I sat glued to the computer and played it through in one sitting (Him driving, and me helping with the portal-placement :P)
We laughed so hard when we got to the song, and now we’ve both got it in our heads non-stop.
Best line - We do what we must, because we can, for the good of all of us….except the ones who are dead…
October 24th, 2007 at 5:54 am
[...] So far the success of “Still Alive” can be measured only in indirect ways like word of mouth or the 149 comments on Coulton’s blog post about the song. Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi told me that the song will be released early this week on [...]
October 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
omg lol,
you write your chords related to the lyrics out of your head the same way I do it with my texts
anyway won’t you throw cake at me to correct a little thing I think you overlooked ? I think it’s :
Em A D
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction
(you forgot the D chord when the faction of satisfaction is coming :).
October 24th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
The last game-ending song that so captured the moment for me was “Late Goodbye” by Poets of the Fall. I remember having chills listening to that song and watching the credits roll. Granted, the mood at the end of Max Payne 2 was completely different than Portal, but “Still Alive” is every bit as good as a game capping moment.
With “Still Alive” I sat there reading and grinning, my jaw on the floor.
Bravo, Jonathan. Excellent music, loved it, it should go down in the annals of video game history as one of the best theme songs ever written.
October 25th, 2007 at 8:18 am
“Still Alive” is THE best ending theme for video games I’ve played this year. I couldn’t help smiling when the song played and the credit rolled.
Excellent job indeed, Jonathan!
October 25th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I just wanted to say that after finishing the game, finally, I was presented with this fabulous song!
Well done on some spot on, funny lyrics. Really complements the game’s humour.
Should release it onto iTunes and get it up the charts!
October 25th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Thanks Jonathan, absolutely perfect ending for the game - now if only we can find a way to drop Code Monkey into a game
October 25th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Absolutely brilliant - not since Homeworld has there been such a wonderful musical payoff at the end of a game.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I am usually extremely critical of games, especially their endings. That being said, when I beat Portal a tear literally came to my eye because of how great it was (no joke). Although Portal is an undoubtedly fantastic game by itself, I only seem to be concerned with loading up my final save game over and over just beat it and hear your song.
You are simply responsible for one of the greatest game endings of all time. Be proud.
Thank you
October 26th, 2007 at 5:17 am
Instaclassic. Amazing. Cool. I placed the mp3 in loop in my desktop for 2 days. Its remind me the Blade Runner music, for a music that fit into a world.
Congrats both, you and Valve.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
CURSE YOU JOCO!
It used to be I could throw on any number of your songs to quiet my screamy little baby, but now he’s had a taste of “still alive” and he won’t go back.
Maybe I can try “I crush everything” again, between playing this song over and over.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I am also completely hooked on this song - along with the awesome remix you posted later.
I know the rights may be slightly complicated to work out, but please, Please PLEASE work out how to play this live… I think a JoCo concert without your singing this would be a travesty… (and you thought they liked to sing along with Code Monkey or Mandelbrot Set…!)
I’m waiting to see the numbers from Steam, I’m hoping that will help give Valve (and you) some further incentives to play this - and the almost certain sequels - as often as possible…
Which raises an interesting thought… JoCo, do you ever get tired of singing on behalf of psychos? Or is it therapeutic, perhaps?
October 27th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I’m mortal enemy of pop/rock music, but I was SO-O-O deeply surprised when I saw/heard ending theme of Portal. How cleverly and resourceful it is! Man, I was about to cream my jeans. Thanks a lot!
October 27th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Congratulations on getting to do that. It is a great song. I was laughing during parts of it when I fininshed the game.
You do a lot of really good work. As a programmer, Code Monkey is a favorite of mine.
Thanks.
October 27th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Brilliant song. I heard about you from PCGamer magazine UK just before Portal was released, under the rumour that you were doing something for it. I hastily researched, loved the songs (Tom Cruise Crazy, Madelaine and Code Monkey are my favourites) and played the game. I laughed and cried during the credits sequence. You are a master, and you have a new devotee.
October 27th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Brilliant song.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
[...] I can tell you that the composer is a Mr. Jonathan Coulton and he’s supplied the lyrics and a guitar tab for your [...]
October 27th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
This is my first conscious exposure to JC, but like the rest of ya I can’t get away from “Still Alive”…. way to cap what was already a perfect game with a completely unexpected pop gem. It’s so hard to go find pop gems these days, I love that this one came and found me. Let me be the 38th to say “best ending ever!”
With all due respect to the stirring airship theme from Final Fantasy 7, there has only been one previous occasion in my long gaming career I’ve been so haunted by a piece of video game music that I had to seek out the composer immediately. Wanna guess? Yup - Terry Taylor, The Neverhood. And back then there’s no MySpace, so I had to write the TenNapels to inquire, and they very obligingly sent me a mix tape. (Thanks again for that, you guys!)
Now I must at once seek out the seminal JoCo works… as well as the Skullmonkeys ditty, sounds A BIT like my cup o’ tea.
…and I feel so much less guilty now about getting the theme to Code Monkeys stuck in my head!
– OW!
October 28th, 2007 at 12:34 am
My son rented the Orange box and as usual whipped through the whole thing in a day or so. Then kept on playing it. And playing it. And I kept hearing the Portal song. And kept hearing it. And kept hearing it. Finally ending up whistling it at work where people asked ‘what IS that absurdly catchy tune?’ So I rustled up a YouTube clip and played it. People accuse me of being an evil overlord with designs on their sanity. It is even now being hummed, sung, whistled all over the plant. Wait. It’s YOU with the evil overlord plot thing! You’re out to hijack all of our minds, aren’t you? *tapping fingers on desk in a particular rhythm while humming ‘maybe Black Mesa, HAHA that was a joke’*
October 28th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Terry Scott Taylor composed all the music for Neverhood, which really is my all time favorite point-and-click game.
And, I must say that without the specific music, Neverhood wouldn’t be half as good as it is.
But then again, Still Alive is my absolute favorite song of all time. It’s absolutely fantastic!
I’m looking forward to hearing more of your work. And if that work involves Valve, nothing can go wrong.
October 28th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
This just keeps looping on my head. I love it. I didn’t even play the game myself (watched from side).
This is going to be one of those song gaming community remembers after years (like J-E-N-O-V-A, Yehat and some others).
October 29th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
[...] will be. The conclusion is great, and ends with a hilarious song played over the credits by Jonathan Coulton which will be running through your head for days. This game would be worth buying on its own, and [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 10:19 am
please give me instrumental version
October 30th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Well, looks like this is comment No.210 or something…so…here it is…
Portal`s unofficial fan-praised logo(the Companion Cube) when painted in orange is the second heart of The Orange Box
You helped a truly awesome and creative game to be even more awesome by doing the mind-blowing ending song!
*bows to the ground*
You should be honoured by your work! Congrats to you and to those fancy guys at Valve!
And…with you…ummm…now….we`re…”Still Alive”
October 30th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
This is song is great, but so great, that it makes you like and miss GLaDos so much, even despite the fact she sent you to burn to death… I really hope she gets new appeareances in the Half-Life franchise.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:52 am
Great great song!
I can’t stop listening to it!
I hear it all day long on a loop.
Great job on the song and the humor.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Thank you, thank you for this song! It blew my mind, and was a perfect finishing touch to a nearly perfect game.
Cheers,
Maz
October 31st, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Best gaming music since trying to dock with a Space Station in Elite. End Of.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Finished the game today, heard the song for the first time today, fell in love with it today, learnt it today. Best game music since Uematsu left Square Enix!
Thanks for the chords!
TBM
October 31st, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Man this song is great, I really love it as much as i love the whole game.
Cheers from Argentina.
November 1st, 2007 at 2:19 am
First November comment! Will this thread ever die?
Not while there are like-minded people proceeding to finish Portal and obsess over the song that so poignantly ties up the most likable (and… hateable (?)) non corporeal character since HAL.
With any luck, Aperture Labs will cameo in further Valve releases.
November 1st, 2007 at 3:44 am
Wow! This ending-song is really a masterpiece! Congrats to you and Ellen McLain!
November 1st, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Can’t say nothing more than what all the other guys said… But my own personal BIG thank you for making Portal so perfect and making me laugh every thime I sin