Dani California

 In the song, lyricist Anthony Kiedis laments the early death of Dani California, a poor, young girl from Mississippi who became a bank robber and lived a hard, fast life. A girl by the name of "Dani" also appears in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2002 single "By the Way". "Californication" is also said to have a reference to Dani; although there is no mention of her name in the lyrics she is the "teenage bride with a baby inside". Kiedis has explained that the character of Dani California embodies all the women from his past relationships, "When this funky groove came up it struck me as a perfect place to actually tell a story. It sort of revealed itself to me that it's been the same character, just kind of developing. At first I didn't realize that I was writing about the same girl."