There is no safe haven for songwriters. I sure have, and the problem, over and over again, is poor writing. It is really a waste of time to get in front of an audience and not communicate anything. Great vocal chops will keep the audience's attention for a while, so will outstanding guitar playing, but nothing I've seen yet works better on an audience than good song lyrics. Although chances are pretty good that no one will know what your songs are about any way.
Many writers play it safe behind vague or complex lyrics.
And most of the time it is not the song that I fell for anyway. It is the singing voice, or the wonderful cadence, or the overdubbing, or the beautiful harmonies, or the perfect mix, or the instrumental arrangements, or the melody, or God knows what else. These things are not what I am referring to when I speak of the song. These things are the recording. I'm talking about the writing of simple, honest lyrics.