Lyric discussion by villiz 

Cover art for Hanalei lyrics by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Pretty straight forward lyrics with couple of interesting literary references.

He's feeling good for no particular reason while visiting Hanalei and meets a girl who wants to make a world a better place. He meets the girl while on his way to surf and she is earthy and sacrificing person eager to make the world better with her own expense. She reminds him of Charlotte Gray, a character from a book of same name.

He likes the girl and it also makes him sad because he doesn't want this moment and chance of connecting with another person to pass him by.

The moment reminds him of Hemingway's stories.

He feels that things happening inside of this girl underneath the surface are the ones that create the action in physical world.

My Interpretation