Strike,
Looking more into it, it is the official lament of the CF for the fallen.
You are correct, it was innapropriate.
I will post what I have found, from wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_of_the_Forest#Modern_usage
http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_forest.htm
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Flowers_of_the_Forest
Flowers of the Forest is an ancient ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
folk tune. Although the original words are unknown, the melody was recorded in c. 1615-25 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest," though it may have been composed earlier
. Several versions of words have been added to the tune, notably Jean ElliotJean ElliotJean Elliot, also known as Jane Elliot was a Scottish poet, and the third daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland....
's lyrics in 1756. Others include those by Alison Cockburn below. However, many renditions are played on the Great Highland BagpipeGreat Highland BagpipeThe Great Highland Bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, which has achieved widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world....
; due to the content of the lyrics and the reverence for the tune, it is one of the few tunes that many pipers will only perform at funerals or memorial services, and only practiced in private or to instruct other pipers.
dileas
tess