Riverhead Patch: 'You Should Be Here': 'The Voice' Winner Writes Song For Scout Killed

by Lisa Finn | Link to Original Article

October 9, 2023

SHOREHAM-WADING RIVER, NY — When Andrew McMorris, 12, was killed by a drunk driver while out on a hike with his Boy Scout troop in 2018, his friends, still so young, so much of life ahead, were left helpless in the face of a heartbreak too big and horrific to grasp.

One of those friends was Carter Rubin — the winner of "The Voice" in 2020, when he was just 15 years old.

Although he captivated the country with his voice and sincerity, his sweet demeanor and dazzling talent, Carter was also still carrying a weight of sadness inside that no one could see — mourning his close friend Andrew.

Carter debuted a song recently — at the annual Andrew McMorris Foundations's 5th Annual Gala — that he'd written for his friend Andrew.

The lyrics of the song, "Plane Ticket to Heaven," had those at the gala sobbing openly. "You were the friend that comes once in a lifetime," Carter sang. "I just never knew that we wouldn't have much time. Your wings were ready; our hearts were not."

In his song, Carter talks about his days with Andrew, who'd spend days dancing in the backyard in his blue Nike shirt, singing songs and dreaming of a future he'd never get to experience.

"In my dreams," Carter sang, "I book a plane ticket to heaven, just to see how you are."

The lyrics speak of the pain and anger Carter felt, watching his friend die far too soon. "You would have gotten taller, but you'd still have that same smile," he sang. "You never got to grow old, but I'll look up to you for the rest of my life."

Whenever he feels lost, Carter said Andrew sends him a sign, to tell him that he's not "too far."

"I've counted the years," the lyrics say. "Keep track of my tears. There isn't a day it doesn't cross my mind. You should be here. Somehow, I feel you every day, right by my side."

Andrew's parents, Alisa and John McMorris, spoke on social media about Carter's song to their son, thanking him "for writing and performing the most touching tribute to his buddy Andrew, 'Plane Ticket to Heaven,' which he premiered at our event. Not a dry eye in the room."

Speaking with Patch about his song for Andrew, Carter said he and Andrew first met at a Shoreham-Wading River school summer theater program, when he was set to enter seventh grade and Andrew, sixth.

"We were doing 'High School Musical' and we became friends and stayed close ever since," Carter said.

Both boys shared a love of music and being on stage. "We shared a bunch of memories doing theater together," he said. "One of my favorite memories was at my 13th birthday party, when Andrew asked if I had a fedora. So I ran up to my room and grabbed mine for him to wear. The DJ put on Michael Jackson and Andrew danced and put on a show for everyone. It made that day so much more special for me."

When asked about the day he learned Andrew had died, Carter looked back at an experience nothing in his young life had prepared him for.

"I didn't know how to comprehend finding out that wouldn't be able to see or talk to Andrew again," he said. "I don't know if anyone, at 13, could be prepared to hear that your friend was killed by a drunk driver."

Carter's mother Alonna added: "I remember sitting on his bed early in the morning. My whole body was shaking as I sat and waited for him to wake up, to tell him about Andrew."

She added: "I watched a community get shattered but also come together to be there for Alisa, John and Andrew's sister Arianna. We let Carter know that everything he was feeling at the time was okay — anger, sadness, confusion."

A lot of healing came from Carter's continued connection with the McMorris family, she said, "being at the trial, helping to decorate their house for Christmas with Andrew's friends, participating in the Top Gun run fundraisers and getting to perform in Andrew's memory at the Andrew McMorris Foundation galas."

So close were the boys, that Andrew's mom Alisa asked Carter to sing one of his favorite songs at his funeral. "I just remember feeling so broken, scared, angry and confused, as to why or how this could happen," Carter said.

"Plane Ticket to Heaven," written for Andrew, was a way to help Carter cope and understand the unthinkable. "I wrote this song, full of details about his life and things he loved to do, as a way of keeping his legacy alive," he said.

Carter said he definitely plans to take the song to his producer to record it and put it out into the world.

Since winning "The Voice," Carter said he graduated from high school in June and moved to Nashville to pursue his music career.

But his heart and his memories are never far from his Shoreham home.

"I will always be connected to my community at home and to my family and friends. I recently traveled back to attend the AMF gala because I will always support the McMorris family and their cause."

Earlier this year, it was an emotional day for Andrew's family, long shattered by grief, as they saw victory in their fight for justice in their son's name: An appeal was denied for the driver who was convicted by a jury of driving drunk and killing Andrew.

Thomas Murphy, of Holbrook, was found guilty on all counts in 2019 and received the maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison in 2020. He sought to have that verdict overturned in his appeal.

Carter said he's pledged to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, a mission he said is "absolutely critical. No family should ever have to go through something like this. I'm so moved and inspired by the work that the foundation has done and continues to do in Andrew's name."

Still, despite the beauty of the song, and the work done to keep Andrew's legacy alive, his loss echoes.

"If I could see Andrew again, I'd let him know how important he is to so many people, how many lives he's touched and how much I miss him," Carter said. "To honor his legacy, I'm going to continue chasing my dream and being good to people, just like Andrew would have wanted."

Andrew's mother Alisa spoke about how much it means to their entire family, to have their son remembered in such a touching song and tribute by his close friend Carter.

Both her boy and Carter shared the same dreams, the same love of music, Alisa said. "Andrew and Carter were always taking and planning how to take on the music industry — whose mom would drive them to the next open audition," she said.

"Two months after Andrew was taken, Carter and many of Andrew’s friends gathered at our home to help us decorate for the first Christmas without him," Alisa said. "It was at that time that Carter sang in our living room in front of the Christmas tree the first version of this song. This year for the fifth anniversary, we asked Carter if he could revisit the song and preform it at our fifth annual Andrew McMorris Foundation gala fundraiser — and he knocked us over with how beautiful it was. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house — and our hearts were so full of the love he put into the lyrics."

She added: "Andrew and Carter had big plans to take on the music world, and we couldn’t be happier for Carter's success. I have often been asked what Andrew would think — and without a doubt, Andrew would have been thrilled for his dear friend!" she said.

John, Andrew's father, added: "We were deeply touched by Carter's heartfelt song, and we will forever be grateful for how he has honored Andrew this way."

Another thing that Carter mentions in his song, is finding Andrew's watch. "I found your watch and it felt like time stopped. It must've been your way of staying just a little longer," Carter sang.

Alisa McMorris said a week after Andrew's death, his family posted on Facebook, asking if anyone had found his watch.

"Andrew left it at Carter's birthday party," she said. "We lost it, and then found it — and it was lost again in November, 2019, during the trial. The story of the elusive traveling watch. We look at it as if Andrew wanted to stay a little longer — just like Carter says, in his song."