Five Long Years 
Another Eddie Boyd song, one of his biggest hits from 1952, covered by many 
artists including Muddy Waters (1963) and - the Yardbirds with EC. It's on the 
1964 release "Five Live Yardbirds", and EC played what he loved most: the Blues. 
The story about a poor man working five years in a steel mill, giving all his 
money to his woman who finally puts him out was also a number one on the top 40 
rhythm and Blues charts. 
Five Long Years is a Blues in A (chords A7/D7/E7, you know). It contains a great 
intro and a great solo containing a lot of EC's favourite Blues licks, so we'll 
take a closer look at this song. 
The intro starts with notes from the major pentatonic, it's the A chord: 
  A7 (I)          D7 (IV)                                     A7 (I)
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I-----------------8b(10)~~~---8-5----------------------------------------------------I
I------/6---------bend------------(8)rb7-7-5--7b(8)-7b(8)---5-7b(9)-5h7-----5-7------I
I--4-7----7-------into------------------------7b(8)-7b(8)-7---------------7----------I
I-----------7~~\--root---------------------------------------------------------------I
I------A-chord----note A-------------------------------------------------------------I
0:00

                                                      D7 (IV)
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I-----------------------------------13-15b(17)--15h17-repeat...---15----17-15--------I
I-5h7-5---5----------------12/14~~~----------------------------------17-------17-----I
I-------7---7p5h7...-\---------------------------------------------------------------I
I-----------root---------------------------------------------------------------------I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
                          0:15

 D7 (IV)
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I--17-15----17-15-----15b-17-----15-17-15h17p15----15-17-15h17p15----15-17-15h17p15--I
I--------17-------17----------17----------------17----------------17-----------------I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
                              0:20

 D7 (IV)                                A7 (I)
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I----15-15~~~~---15-17-15h17-15----15------------------------------------------------I
I-17----------17----------------17-----17-14-17-14~~~---12----12---------------------I
I----------------------------------------------------------14-----14\12p10----12-----I
I--------------------------------------------------------------------------12----12--I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
                                                        0:25

                  E7 (V)    A7 (I)                                  E7 (V)
I---------------------------------------------------------------------5---8b--5---8b-I
I-------------------------------------------------------------------5---5-------5----I
I---------------------------/14~~~-12-----------repeat----5-7-7b(9)------------------I
I--10----------------------------------14\12------------7----------------------------I
I-----12\10h12p10----------------------------15--------------------------------------I
I------------------12----------------------------------------------------------------I
                            0:27

                                                      D7 (IV)
I--5---8b--5-----5-------------------------------------------------------------------I
I----5-------5-8---8-5---------------------------------------------------------------I
I----------------------7b(9)-7-5---7---5-----------------17b(19)-17~~-14----14-17----I
I--------------------------------7---7---7-5-----------------------------17----------I
I---------------------------------------------7-5------------------------------------I
I-------------------------------------------------8\5--------------------------------I
                                  0:34

                          A7 (I)                 D7 (IV)
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
I--14h17p14----14-14\----------------------------8-5---------------------------------I
I-----------17--------------5-7-7b(8)-7-5---5b-------7b-7-5---7----------------------I
I-------------------------7---------------7-----------------7---7p5------------------I
I--------------------------------------------------------------------7p5\3-----------I
I------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I

   A7 (I)      E7 (V)
I---------------------------I
I--8-5---5~~----------------I
I------5------7b(9)-7-5-----I
I-----------------------7\--I
I---------------------------I
I---------------------------I
  0:43

Don't just play it note for note (altough it's difficult enough...), listen how 
EC builds up and releases the tension while going up and down the fretboard. He 
starts "optimistic" with the notes from the major chord, bends into the root 
note, runs down the minor Blues scale ending in a diminished seventh - root 
(tonic) triller, waiting to be continued. He plays different runs with the same 
notes, adding additional hammer-ons/pull-offs. 
During the first verse we can play rhythm guitar with the standard chords (A7 - 
D7 - E7) in a slow 12 bar scheme, sometimes a kind of quick change chord is 
used. There is much room between the lyrics, so we can add some nice fills. 
Let's take a look at some of them: 
I-----------------------------------5-(root)--I--------------------5----------8p5----I
I-mistreated...-------------------------------I-about...---------5---8b(10)~~-----8--I
I------------------7b(8)p5----7b(9)-----------I------------7b(9)---------------------I
I---------------------------------------------I--------------------------------------I
I---------------------------------------------I--------------------------------------I
I---------------------------------------------I--------------------------------------I
  0:51                                                      1:00

working...