[2] The epistles, written and performed in different styles, from drinking songs and laments to pastorales, paint a complex picture of the life of the city during the 18th century.

A frequent theme is the demimonde, with Fredman's cheerfully drunk Order of Bacchus,[3] a loose company of ragged men who favour strong drink and prostitutes.

At the same time as depicting this reality, Bellman creates a Rococo picture of life, full of classical allusion, following the French post-Baroque poets.

The women, including the beautiful Ulla Winblad, are "nymphs", while Neptune's festive troop of followers and sea-creatures sport in Stockholm's waters.

[6] Along with Fredman's Songs 36–43, such as "Joakim uti Babylon" and "Ahasverus var så mäktig", Gubben Noak is one of the biblical travesties that made Bellman popular during the 1760s.

[7] In 1768 the Lund chapter reacted by sending a letter to the priests of the diocese, attempting to collect all prints and transcripts of "Gubben Noach" and other biblical travesties, in order to have them destroyed.

[7] Lönnroth notes that songs praising Noah had been current among the bacchanalian poets of Germany and France from Renaissance times, and that Jean Le Houx's [fr] sixteenth century French poem contained phrases much like Bellman's:[7] Que Noé fut un patriarche digne!

Car ce fut luy qui nous planta la vigne Et beut premier le ius de son raisin.

Simplified and more innocent versions, such as Björnen sover ("The bear's asleep"),[14] and Atte Katte Nuwa ("To catch a whale"),[15] have become popular as children's songs.