"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 banks of the River Charles :Along with lovers, muggers, and thieves. :'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 is well-known for playing the song immediately following home victories, a tradition that began in the 2001 season. But the tradition started when the Boston Bruins ice hockey team - at the suggestion of two Boston University students working for the team - began playing the song following victories in 2000.

The Dirty Water Club is a long-running London club night featuring bands influenced by 1960s garage rock. It is named after The Standells' 1966' hit single "Dirty Water".

The club night started in October 1996 in the Tufnell Park neighbourhood of north London, at a venue called The Boston (The Standells' hit glorifies the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts). Past performers have included The White Stripes, The Fleshtones, Billy Childish (of Thee Headcoats, The Buff Medways, and The Musicians of the British Empire), The Woggles, The Von Bondies, The Dirtbombs, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, The 5.6.7.8's, The Horrors, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Radio Birdman to name a few. The club has also seen some original 1960s performers, such as The Monks, Kim Fowley, and Sky Saxon of The Seeds, grace its stage.

The in-house record label, Dirty Water Records, was launched in 2004 with the debut single by The Dirty, followed up by a 7" EP by Thee Exciters in 2005 then, following the re-release of the classic 1979 Lyres single How Do You Know? c/w Don't Give It Up Now in May 2007, inititiated a heavy release schedule that continues to this day.