diff --git a/version.sh b/version.sh
index 3269e038a7..d1cf15d432 100755
--- a/version.sh
+++ b/version.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ fi
 
 # check for git short hash
 if ! test "$revision"; then
-    revision=$(cd "$1" && git describe --always 2> /dev/null)
+    revision=$(cd "$1" && git describe --tags --match N 2> /dev/null)
     test "$revision" && revision=git-$revision
 fi