Gordon Lightfoot has a song on his Sundown album called CIRCLE OF STEEL. It is a very haunting song, about poverty and despair, set against the backdrop of the Christmas season. It includes this verse:

"DECK THE HALLS" was the song they played
In the flat next door where they shout all day.
She tips her gin bottle back till it's gone.
The child is strong.
A week, a day, they will take it away
For they know about all her bad habits.

In addition, the first three notes of "Deck The Halls" are the starting notes of each verse, but there is no other similarity.

He has at least one other song reference that I remember, but it isn't as striking. It's from a song called ROMANCE, on the album "Salute." The line is:

They say that people don't change Like "HOME ON THE RANGE", it's original