diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index fc06bb6..aada20f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -19,8 +19,16 @@ set (project_version "0.9.2")
 # we could also detect dirty worktrees but that's very hard to get right.
 find_package (Git)
 set (git_head "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git/HEAD")
-if (GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS ${git_head})
-	configure_file (${git_head} git-head.tag COPYONLY)
+if (GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS "${git_head}")
+	configure_file ("${git_head}" git-head.tag COPYONLY)
+	file (READ "${git_head}" git_head_content)
+	if (git_head_content MATCHES "^ref: ([^\r\n]+)")
+		set (git_ref "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git/${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+		if (EXISTS "${git_ref}")
+			configure_file ("${git_ref}" git-ref.tag COPYONLY)
+		endif (EXISTS "${git_ref}")
+	endif (git_head_content MATCHES "^ref: ([^\r\n]+)")
+
 	execute_process (COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} describe --tags --match v*
 		WORKING_DIRECTORY ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}
 		RESULT_VARIABLE git_describe_result
@@ -28,7 +36,7 @@ if (GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS ${git_head})
 	if (NOT git_describe_result)
 		string (REGEX REPLACE "^v" "" project_version "${git_describe}")
 	endif (NOT git_describe_result)
-endif (GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS ${git_head})
+endif (GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS "${git_head}")
 
 # Dashes make filenames confusing and upset packaging software
 string (REPLACE "-" "+" project_version_safe "${project_version}")