During an appearance on the Zach Sang Show in 2019, Perry revealed that the track is about a previous motorcycle ride she took with Bloom in Hawaii, of course. "I was shooting American Idol with everyone in Hawaii and my boyfriend – he was my boyfriend at the time — we were in Hawaii and we rented a Harley because we were there for a few days, and you know, to be on the back of a motorcycle in Hawaii with the air blowing on your face is so beautiful," she said. "[I was] whispering to Orlando, 'I'm going to write a song called 'Harleys in Hawaii,' and I did. It just dropped into my head."