The article is devoted to the current state of interdisciplinary research in the field of intermediate (“synthetic”) arts, in which one of the expressive linkages is the artistic word. The author focuses on the arts in which one person creates all of the “subtexts” (subsystems) of the artistic intermedia text. Such instances occur in literature and song lyrics. The song combines word, music and “speech theater” of the performer, but research into the synthesis of these three “subtexts” is rare. Most researchers do not study phonograms (video recording), but rather the interlinear (paper) text. Much meaning is lost due to this methodological approach. The author of the article demonstrates the multidimensionality of song and poetic texts using examples from Vladimir Vysotsky and Alexander Bashlachev. The songs by these authors are semantically rich and markedly performative, where part of the meaning derives from articulation and voice modulation. Articulation creates at least three semantic effects that complement the verbal text. These are: the creation of a system of speech characters; the materialization of the poetic text (for example - sound imitation); and plot correction. Recipients will miss a number of meanings important for understanding the song if they sight-read the song and do not listen to the phonogram. The author of the article believes that for the study of artistic objects of mixed semiosis it is necessary to create a special branch of knowledge (intermediology).