diff --git a/.git-hooks/commit-msg b/.git-hooks/commit-msg
index 64fb7924956b..2c788fb0f622 100755
--- a/.git-hooks/commit-msg
+++ b/.git-hooks/commit-msg
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ fi
 
 # ...and that it is not too long
 
-len="`head -n 1 $1 | wc -c`"
+len="`head -n 1 $1 | tr -d '\n' | wc -c`"
 if [ "$len" -gt 79 ] ; then
     abort "$1" "The first line is $len characters, please try to fit into 79 characters."
 fi