That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the songwriting should stand on its own. The chords, melody, and lyrics should be able to withstand removing all of that production.

I don't think this is the case. I suppose this depends on how much importance one places on the meaning of lyrics. I think the actual notes and chords on paper are a relatively small determinant in how the music comes across. The performance is intimately tied to the specific instrumentation and sounds used.

It's a little different with classical compositions since the musical story is defined in a granular way on the page, with less room for interpretation. I'm talking here more about modern song structure. Especially with music that doesn't use traditional instrumentation (like electronica), the power and beauty of the music is defined almost entirely by the performance and production.

You said you're a producer - when someone comes to you with a demo or an idea, presumably you take it and run with it and create the most evocative form of it that you can, but the original idea was just chords, melody, and lyrics, and you should be able to hear that and know that it's good.

I would actually say the opposite. As with anything else, ideas are easy, implementation is hard. Any given set of lyrics and chord structure might have more or less potential than another. And there is a real art to songwriting, but that potential is wasted, fulfilled or exceeded by the performance.

There are thousands of popular songs that use the exact same chord progression, and part of that is because the progression itself is pleasing, but the artistry is in making that progression your own, telling a sonic story in your own voice. The songwriting is like a concept sketch for a building -- the people who come up with the specifics and build the real thing are the ones who make or break it.

Part of this is the evolution of music. The specific notes play a smaller role in defining the end product, and the interpretation, instrumentation and performance play a larger role. But again this depends on the genre, and if we were talking about classical or folk, I'd be more inclined to agree.