This is a Vaughan rendition of a Willie Dixon song. The verses and bridge are 16 bars (or measures) long instead of the standard 12. It’s blazing fast too, at 184 beats
per minute. There is a heavy use of muted strings to create a percussive sound.

Intro

The verses of the song are 16 measures long. Each verse has 4 lines of lyrics, so if you do the math you’ll come to find that each line of the lyric will last 4 measures.

[Verse 1]
Hello there my old friend
Not so long ago it was ’til the end
We played outside in the pouring rain
On our way up the road we started over again

The chord progression for the verse is A, E, F#m, D and each chord gets a measure.

After the opening lick, we’ll spend two measures to establish the rhythm before the vocals come in.

It’s a slow shuffle pattern in the key of A.

Here’s a great SRV riff. It’s a challenge to play it up to speed at first, so I’ve included an audio sample of it somewhat slower than the recorded version. You may need to start off even slower. There’s nothing wrong with that, just take your time. Like I said, it’s pretty hard. The main riff is played as an intro to the song and after each transition after the verse and chorus.