John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were a pioneering English blues band, led b… Read Full Bio ↴John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and '67 then dropped it for some fifteen years, but in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and the name began to be re-used. The name became generic without a clear distinction which recordings could be credited just to the leader or to leader and his band. The Bluesbreakers have included luminaries such as:

* Eric Clapton (April–August 1965, November 1965–July 1966) and Jack Bruce, who both left to form Cream,

* Peter Green, who had replaced Clapton, played until August 1967, when he departed with Mick Fleetwood and then also enticed Bluesbreaker John McVie a few weeks later to form Fleetwood Mac

* Mick Taylor (August 1967–July 1969) who later joined The Rolling Stones, and reunion tours in 1982–83 and 2004,

* Harvey Mandel, Walter Trout, Larry Taylor (later in Canned Heat),

* Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Randy Resnick, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (Free), Chris Mercer, Henry Lowther, Johnny Almond and Jon Mark (later of Mark-Almond).

The Bluesbreakers were formed in January 1963 and became an ever-evolving lineup of more than 100 different combinations of musicians performing under that name. Eric Clapton joined in 1965 just a few months after the release of their first album. Clapton brought the blues influences to the forefront of the group, as he had left The Yardbirds in order to play the blues.

The group lost their record contract with Decca that year, which also saw the release of a single called "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (produced by Jimmy Page), followed by a return to Decca in 1966. The album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (also known as The Beano Album because Clapton is shown on the cover photo reading a copy of the comic) was released later that year; it reached the Top Ten in the UK.

Clapton and Jack Bruce left the group that year to form Cream. Clapton was replaced by Peter Green for A Hard Road, after which he left to form Fleetwood Mac. Finally, in 1969, the third Bluesbreaker-guitarist departed when Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones.

By the time the 1960s were over, the Bluesbreakers had finally achieved some success in the United States.

With some interruptions, the Bluesbreakers have continued to tour and release albums (over 50 to date), though they never achieved the critical or popular acclaim of their earlier material. In 2003, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber reunited with the band for John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert in Liverpool — the concert was later released on CD and DVD. In 2004, their line up included Buddy Whittington, Joe Yuele, Hank Van Sickle and Tom Canning, and the band toured the UK with Mick Taylor as a guest musician.

In November 2008 Mayall announced on his website he was disbanding the Bluesbreakers to cut back on his heavy workload and give himself freedom to work with other musicians.

Lonely Years
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Face is turning white
From the salt of all my tears.
Face is turning white
From the salt of all my tears.
Lost everything I had,
I got to face five lonely years.

Everybody got a trouble

I got to live with mine right now.
Everybody got a trouble
I got to live with mine right now.
I'm gonna take a little walk now, people,
And I'll try to get along somehow.

I'll be leaving right now, people;
I got to stop now and figure out my time.
I got to get a bus, people;
I got to stop now and figure out my time.

I believe with a feeling,
I got to move on down the line

Overall Meaning

The song Lonely Years by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers is a classic blues number that paints the picture of a man who has lost everything and is now facing five lonely years ahead without anything to hold onto. The lyrics describe his face turning white from the salt of all his tears, expressing the depth of his despair and the pain he feels. The second stanza talks about how everybody has their own troubles, but this man has to live with his own, and he will take a walk to try and get along with life somehow, despite the tragic events that have led him to this point. The third stanza tells us that he has to leave now and figure out his time, implying that he is either trying to start over or is simply escaping from his current predicament. He has to get a bus and move on down the line, emphasizing that he must continue moving forward, despite the hardships he is facing.

Line by Line Meaning

Face is turning white
My face is turning pale

From the salt of all my tears.
From crying so much, the salt in my tears is making my face turn pale.

Lost everything I had,
I've lost everything I had

I got to face five lonely years.
And now I have to endure five lonely years.

Everybody got a trouble
Everyone has problems in their life

I got to live with mine right now.
I have to live with mine in this moment.

I'm gonna take a little walk now, people,
I'm going to go for a walk now

And I'll try to get along somehow.
And try to cope with everything somehow.

I'll be leaving right now, people;
I'm leaving now.

I got to stop now and figure out my time.
I need to pause and plan my next move.

I got to get a bus, people;
I need to take a bus.