U Roy AKA Ewart Beckford, Hugh Roy. Born in 1942, Kingston, Jamaica, West I… Read Full Bio ↴U Roy AKA Ewart Beckford, Hugh Roy. Born in 1942, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies.

began as a sound system DJ in 1961, spinning records for the Doctor Dickies set, later known as Dickies Dynamic, in such well-known Jamaican venues as Victoria Pier, Foresters Hall and Emmett Park. His inspiration was the DJ Winston Count Machuki, who worked for Coxsone Dodd and subsequently on Prince Buster's Voice Of The People sound system. By the mid-60s he was DJ for Sir George The Atomic, based around Maxfield Avenue in Kingston. Around 1967 he began to work with King Tubby as DJ for his Home Town Hi-Fi. From this association developed the whole modern DJ style; Tubby's work at Duke Reid's studio, where he was disc-cutter, led him to discover dub. He found that by dropping out the vocal track and remixing the remaining rhythm tracks he created new �versions� of much-loved tunes. He began to record a series of special acetate recordings or dub plates for exclusive use on his sound system. The space left by the absent vocal tracks enabled U-Roy to improvise his own jive-talk raps or toasts when the sound system played dances. The effect in the dancehall was immediate and electrifying. In 1969 U-Roy was invited to play for Dodd's Down Beat sound system, playing the number 2 set; the number 1 set had King Stitt as DJ. U-Roy became dissatisfied with playing the latest Coxsone music only after Stitt had first exposed it to dance patrons, and returned to Tubby's. He then began his recording career in full, recording two discs for Lee Perry, Earth's Rightful Ruler and OK Corral, before moving to producer Keith Hudson, for whom he made the outstanding Dynamic Fashion Way.

U-Roy then began recording for Duke Reid, using as backing tracks Reid's rocksteady hits from 1966-67; their success was unprecedented. His first record for Reid, Wake The Town, which used Alton Ellis� Girl I've Got A Date as backing, immediately soared to the top of both Jamaican radio charts. His next two releases, Rule The Nation and Wear You To The Ball, soon joined it. These three releases held the top three positions in the Jamaican charts for 12 weeks during early 1970. Other sound system DJs were quick to follow U-Roy, including Dennis Alcapone and Scotty. The radio stations refused to play DJ music just to give singers a chance, so big was the demand. U-Roy recorded 32 tracks for Reid, in the process versioning almost every rocksteady hit issued on the label and releasing two albums. By 1973 he was recording for other producers, including Alvin Ranglin, Bunny Lee, Glen Brown and Lloyd Charmers as well as self-productions. However, the rise of the next DJ generation including Big Youth signalled the partial eclipse of U-Roy. In 1975 he made a series of albums for producer Prince Tony Robinson which were leased to Virgin Recordsin the UK, wherein the DJ revisited Reid's earlier hits in the then prevalent rockers style. He appeared at the London Lyceum in August 1976, backed by a band featuring Channel One stalwarts Sly Dunbar (bass) and Ansell Collins (organ). He operated his own sound system, Stur-Gav, featuring Ranking Joe and selector Jah Screw. When they left after the sound system was broken up during the turbulent 1980 Jamaican election, it was rebuilt with new DJs Charlie Chaplin and Josey Wales, and Inspector Willie as selector. U-Roy continued to record sporadically throughout the '80s, recording Hustling, a single for Gussie Clarke, in 1984, and two excellent albums for DJs turned producers Tapper Zukie and Prince Jazzbo, in 1986 and 1987 respectively. In 1991 he played a successful �revival� concert at the Hammersmith Palais, London. U-Roy is the man who is responsible for putting the DJ on the map, both as recording artist in Jamaica and as a major indirect influence on the US rappers. As such his importance is immense. source: http://u-roy.20m.com/

Drive Her Home
U Roy Lyrics

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I give her the number 1 and I drive her home
I give her the number 2 and drive her home
When I give her the number 3
Said, “Darling, I'm feeling free
Girl is close to mine and drive me home”

Give her the number 2 and drive her home
I give her the number 3 and drive her home

When I give her the number 4
Said, “Darling, I don't love you no more
Girl is close to mine and drive me home”

Give her the number 2 and drive her home
I give her the number 3 and drive her home
When I give her the number 4
Said, “Darling, I don't love you no more
Girl is close to mine and drive me home”

Drive me home, drive me home

Drive me home, yeah, drive me home
Girl is close to mine

Overall Meaning

The song "Drive Her Home" by U Roy is based on a simple concept of taking a woman home after a night out in the city. The lyrics describe the singer giving the woman he's with a series of numbers, each one signifying a step closer to his eventual destination - his home. The numbers here can be interpreted in different ways. While the first two numbers indicate a straightforward effort to take her home, the third number signifies a moment of liberation for the singer, as he expresses how he is feeling free. It is unclear what the fourth number signifies, but it leads to the woman being dropped home instead of the singer taking her to his place.

The repeated use of the phrase "drive me home" reinforces the notion of a shared journey between the singer and the woman, with the latter being willing to follow his lead. The song's repetition of key phrases amplifies the feeling of a hypnotic, dreamlike experience of a night-out and the mundane activity of driving home after the party.

U Roy's performance features a smooth and mellow tone of voice, which creates an entrancing mood for the listeners. The slow-paced melody of the song reinforces the relaxed state suggested by the lyrics, creating a cohesive and atmospheric listening experience. The song was originally released on an album called Dread in a Babylon and has been covered by many other reggae artists since.

Line by Line Meaning

I give her the number 1 and I drive her home
I am giving her my undivided attention and affection and taking her home safely

I give her the number 2 and drive her home
I am continuing to show her affection and taking her safely home again

When I give her the number 3 Said, “Darling, I'm feeling free Girl is close to mine and drive me home”
When I feel a certain level of comfort and intimacy with her, I express my feelings and ask her to take me home

Give her the number 2 and drive her home I give her the number 3 and drive her home When I give her the number 4 Said, “Darling, I don't love you no more Girl is close to mine and drive me home”
As our relationship progresses, I gradually lose interest in her and eventually break up with her, but keep her as my ride home

Drive me home, drive me home Drive me home, yeah, drive me home Girl is close to mine
Regardless of the state of our relationship, I continue to rely on her for transportation, as she is close to me

Contributed by Nolan P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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