 Vedder added that many songs were inspired by the death of fellow musician Johnny Ramone , whom he described as " the best friend I ever had on the planet " . The lyrics of " Life Wasted " in particular were written after attending Ramone 's funeral . Vedder said that " Gone " is about a man " needing to find a new life without his past , without his possessions , and not really looking for more possessions . " Damien Echols , one of the three members of the West Memphis 3 , co @-@ wrote the lyrics to " Army Reserve " . For the first time McCready contributed lyrics to a Pearl Jam album , writing the lyrics to the closing track " Inside Job " . McCready said that he wrote the lyrics while touring in São Paulo as he " want [ ed ] this song to happen " despite Vedder not having done the lyrics yet , and added that the lyrical inspiration was the realization that " I had to go inside myself first before I could be open to outside ideas . " 
