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'"Dirty Water"' is a 12-bar blues song composed by Ed Cobb and first recorded by the California rock and roll band The Standells in 1966. It is considered a classic of garage rock.
The song debuted April 30, 1966 on the Cash Box charts and peaked at #8. It reached #11 on the Billboard singles charts on June 11. It was the band's first major hit single; their earlier charting record, "The Boy Next Door," had only reached #102 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart in February 1965.
The song is a paean to the city of Boston and its then-famously-polluted Boston Harbor and Charles River:
:Down by the River...
:Down by the banks of the River Charles
:(Oh, that's what's happenin' baby)
:That's where you'll find me
:Along with lovers, muggers, and thieves.
:(Ahh, but they're cool people)
:I love that dirty water
:'Oh oh, Boston, you're my home
''Dirty Water'' was also the title of the Standells' most successful LP, their only nationally charting album. This LP charted on both Billboard and Cash Box magazines' charts, peaking at #52 and #39, respectively, during the summer of 1966.
The song was produced by its writer, Ed Cobb, and was originally issued on the Tower label, a subsidiary of Capitol Records.
The Boston Red Sox baseball team plays the song immediately following a home victory at Fenway Park, as do the Boston Bruins ice hockey team.

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Covers and samples

Covers and samples

★ British garage rock revivalists The Inmates covered "Dirty Water" in 1981, a version which was a mid-sized international hit.

★ The song is sampled at the beginning of "These Are the Days," the first track on The Ducky Boys' 1998 album ''Dark Days''.

★ Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys often include the song in live sets, such as the one documented on 2002's ''Live on St. Patrick's Day From Boston, MA''. A version recorded with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Dicky Barrett was released on Fenway Recordings' 2002 compilation ''In Our Lifetime, Vol. 3: The Revenge of Boston''.

★ Icelandic indie band Singapore Sling covered it in its 2002 debut album ''The Curse of Singapore Sling'', released in North America and Europe the following year.

★ Ex-Iron City Houserockers singer Joe Grushecky included a version on his 2004 solo release ''True Companion''.

★ Former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo's 2005 cover album, ''Covering the Bases'', includes a version of the song.

★ U2 included a snippet of the song while playing "Vertigo" during a two-night stand at Boston's Fleet Center in December 2005.

★ Aerosmith covered the song at both shows in their hometown of Boston during their 2006 Route of All Evil Tour.