I agree with ed_vedder, I think this song is about people dying at a young age.
The first verse could be about a homeless person who dies for obvious reasons. The next verse could be about a drug deal gone wrong and one person got shot, a person commiting suicide, and someone else surviving a gun shot but not remembering anything so they're life is essentially gone anyway. I think the 50,000 names engraved in stone are about war.
As for, "Most of their family and friends are still alive and doing time" could be about the family and friends still mourning their loss.
I agree with ed_vedder, I think this song is about people dying at a young age. The first verse could be about a homeless person who dies for obvious reasons. The next verse could be about a drug deal gone wrong and one person got shot, a person commiting suicide, and someone else surviving a gun shot but not remembering anything so they're life is essentially gone anyway. I think the 50,000 names engraved in stone are about war. As for, "Most of their family and friends are still alive and doing time" could be about the family and friends still mourning their loss.
That's my two cents anyway.