diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index d94019ce..c8662134 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -675,7 +675,7 @@ MAINTAINERCLEANFILES = ChangeLog
 
 .PHONY: ChangeLog
 ChangeLog:
-	git --git-dir $(top_srcdir)/.git log > ChangeLog || touch ChangeLog
+	git --git-dir '$(top_srcdir)/.git' log >$@ || touch $@
 
 dist-hook: ChangeLog