diff --git a/git-svn.perl b/git-svn.perl
index 9382a15044..0290850b66 100755
--- a/git-svn.perl
+++ b/git-svn.perl
@@ -819,6 +819,7 @@ sub commit_diff {
 	} else {
 		$ed->close_edit;
 	}
+	$_message = $_file = undef;
 }
 
 ########################### utility functions #########################