diff --git a/electrum b/electrum
index 5ed4ed92..14f93fc1 100755
--- a/electrum
+++ b/electrum
@@ -488,11 +488,18 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
             print "error: mismatch"
 
     elif cmd == 'signmessage':
-        address, message = args[1:3]
+        address = args[1]
+        message = ' '.join(args[2:])
+        if len(args) > 3:
+            print "Warning: Message was reconstructed from several arguments:", repr(message)
         print wallet.sign_message(address, message, password)
 
     elif cmd == 'verifymessage':
-        address, signature, message = args[1:4]
+        address = args[1]
+        signature = args[2]
+        message = ' '.join(args[3:])
+        if len(args) > 4:
+            print "Warning: Message was reconstructed from several arguments:", repr(message)
         try:
             wallet.verify_message(address, signature, message)
             print True