From the dates this appears to be a cold thread, but I'll add something
here-

I learned the song from a street musician on Grafton Street in Dublin
who definitely sang "pledge", I still have the scrap he wrote it on for me!

He told me an interesting thing about the song- said that
Wim Wenders was listening to "Raglan Road" when he first hatched
the early images for the film "Wings Of Desire" anyone else heard
that story, or know more about it?
E.T.