The Family Jewels

This song, to me, seems to be about her dad and possible abuse she endured at the hands of him. What kind of abuse is unspecified, but she talks about not being able to break "the cycle", referring to the cycle of child abuse. "Pass it down from kid to kid, chain will never end, unless i decide to go to it, will i see the end?" Here she is referring to how the cycle of abuse is passed down from parent to child, and then passed down again. She wishes to break this cycle, saying that she has "beat him at his own game". She is afraid of ending up like her father, like many child abuse survivors are, which is why she says "simmer and suffer, can't keep his cool. I can't keep my cool", noting that she is exhibiting similar actions to his. "Typical of me to put us all to shame" talks about how her trying to better herself is seen as shameful in the eyes of her father, a common idea from abusers. "Welcome to the family jewels" could possibly be a play on both their last name (diamandis) and the fact that it sounds like "family duels", and "coal to diamonds, sold to fools" could be implying that while her family appears put together on the outside, it is just a front. And finally, "and when we're in the dark, it echoes in your heart. and when you're far away, it beckons me to stay", is reminiscent of the conflicting feelings of abuse survivors. When they're together, in the "dark" so to speak, she knows that what he's doing is wrong, but when she is far away from him, she feels guilty, and feels like she must return and give him a second chance, thus "beckoning her to stay".