Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
School of Medicine; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Otol Neurotol. 2023 Jul 1;44(6):619-625. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003912. Epub 2023 May 31.
Popular culture and music have long served as windows into the common attitudes, trends, and issues of the time. The representation of vertigo in music has not been previously explored. The objective of this study was to analyze the portrayal of vertigo in music through content and sentiment analysis of song lyrics.
A large song lyric database was queried to identify English language song titles containing the word "vertigo." A sentiment and content analysis of the lyrics was performed to delineate the most frequently used words, the accuracy of vertigo depictions, and emotional valence (i.e., the ratio of positive to negative references to vertigo).
Between 1969 and 2022, there were a total of 54 songs specifically titled "Vertigo." Most songs (73%) portrayed vertigo negatively, and the prevalence of negative sentiment within music increased with each decade. The three most common words being used in association with vertigo within music were "feel" (n = 97), "love" (n = 66), and "falling" (n = 57). In early decades, songs using the word vertigo misrepresented the condition and associated perceptions relative to common medical understanding. In more recent decades, vertigo was used in a way more representative of medical interpretations.
The depiction of vertigo in songs has changed over time, and more recently, usage has reflected Bárány Society definitions. Interestingly, the negative sentiment has also increased with time. This work provides a lyrical analysis of vertigo that may improve physician understanding of the cultural usage of this challenging symptom.
流行文化和音乐长期以来一直是了解当时普遍态度、趋势和问题的窗口。音乐对眩晕的表现尚未被探索过。本研究的目的是通过对歌词的内容和情感分析来分析音乐中对眩晕的描述。
查询了一个大型歌曲歌词数据库，以确定包含“vertigo”一词的英文歌曲标题。对歌词进行了情感和内容分析，以描绘出最常用的词语、眩晕描述的准确性以及情感效价（即正性与负性提及眩晕的比值）。
1969 年至 2022 年，共有 54 首歌曲的标题明确为“Vertigo”。大多数歌曲（73%）对眩晕的描述是负面的，音乐中负面情绪的流行度随着每个十年的过去而增加。音乐中与眩晕相关的三个最常用的词语是“feel”（97 次）、“love”（66 次）和“falling”（57 次）。在早期几十年，使用 vertigo 一词的歌曲对疾病的描述和相关感知与常见的医学理解不符。在更近的几十年中，vertigo 的使用方式更能代表医学解释。
歌曲中对眩晕的描述随着时间的推移而发生了变化，而且最近的使用方式反映了 Bárány 学会的定义。有趣的是，负面情绪也随着时间的推移而增加。这项工作对眩晕进行了歌词分析，可能会提高医生对这一具有挑战性的症状的文化使用的理解。
