When I was in the seventh grade, we sang a song:
"Funiculi, Funicula!" But we were never told what the
words meant. Here is the song:
http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/f059.html

Some but not all of the "cable cars" in San Francisco
are "funicular":

"Both the Great Orme and Elevador da Bica are funicular railways. Unlike the Hallidie’s San Francisco system in which cars attach and detach from a constantly moving cable, funicular railways usually have two cars permanently attached to either end of a cable. The cable is powered in one direction to send one car uphill and the other downhill, reversing the direction for the return trip. The weight of the car going downhill helps the upward-bound vehicle. "