I think this song is about a husband and wife, Dani California, the husband was a cop the wife was a hippie when they had a kid I think she did something that made the whole community freak out. So she took the kid and fled. She robbed banks along the way just to get by. They made it to North Dakota when a man wanted the reansom on Dani's head so he either killed her or took her to jail. Now the son cries when he thinks of her.