diff --git a/Documentation/git-describe.txt b/Documentation/git-describe.txt
index c924c94..e027fb8 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-describe.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-describe.txt
@@ -3,14 +3,14 @@
 
 NAME
 ----
-git-describe - Describe a commit using the most recent tag reachable from it
-
+git-describe - Give an object a human readable name based on an available ref
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [verse]
 'git describe' [--all] [--tags] [--contains] [--abbrev=<n>] [<commit-ish>...]
 'git describe' [--all] [--tags] [--contains] [--abbrev=<n>] --dirty[=<mark>]
+'git describe' <blob>
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@
 annotated tags.  For more information about creating annotated tags
 see the -a and -s options to linkgit:git-tag[1].
 
+If the given object refers to a blob, it will be described
+as `<commit-ish>:<path>`, such that the blob can be found
+at `<path>` in the `<commit-ish>`, which itself describes the
+first commit in which this blob occurs in a reverse revision walk
+from HEAD.
+
 OPTIONS
 -------
 <commit-ish>...::
@@ -186,6 +192,14 @@
 the number of commits which would be shown by `git log tag..input`
 will be the smallest number of commits possible.
 
+BUGS
+----
+
+Tree objects as well as tag objects not pointing at commits, cannot be described.
+When describing blobs, the lightweight tags pointing at blobs are ignored,
+but the blob is still described as <committ-ish>:<path> despite the lightweight
+tag being favorable.
+
 GIT
 ---
 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt b/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
index 8d8b7f4..22f5c9b 100644
--- a/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
@@ -686,6 +686,11 @@
 	all object IDs which I need to download if I have the commit
 	object _bar_ but not _foo_''.
 
+--in-commit-order::
+	Print tree and blob ids in order of the commits. The tree
+	and blob ids are printed after they are first referenced
+	by a commit.
+
 --objects-edge::
 	Similar to `--objects`, but also print the IDs of excluded
 	commits prefixed with a ``-'' character.  This is used by
diff --git a/builtin/describe.c b/builtin/describe.c
index e14e162..3b0b204 100644
--- a/builtin/describe.c
+++ b/builtin/describe.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "lockfile.h"
 #include "commit.h"
 #include "tag.h"
+#include "blob.h"
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
@@ -12,6 +13,8 @@
 #include "hashmap.h"
 #include "argv-array.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
+#include "revision.h"
+#include "list-objects.h"
 
 #define MAX_TAGS	(FLAG_BITS - 1)
 
@@ -256,7 +259,7 @@
 	return seen_commits;
 }
 
-static void display_name(struct commit_name *n)
+static void append_name(struct commit_name *n, struct strbuf *dst)
 {
 	if (n->prio == 2 && !n->tag) {
 		n->tag = lookup_tag(&n->oid);
@@ -272,19 +275,18 @@
 	}
 
 	if (n->tag)
-		printf("%s", n->tag->tag);
+		strbuf_addstr(dst, n->tag->tag);
 	else
-		printf("%s", n->path);
+		strbuf_addstr(dst, n->path);
 }
 
-static void show_suffix(int depth, const struct object_id *oid)
+static void append_suffix(int depth, const struct object_id *oid, struct strbuf *dst)
 {
-	printf("-%d-g%s", depth, find_unique_abbrev(oid->hash, abbrev));
+	strbuf_addf(dst, "-%d-g%s", depth, find_unique_abbrev(oid->hash, abbrev));
 }
 
-static void describe(const char *arg, int last_one)
+static void describe_commit(struct object_id *oid, struct strbuf *dst)
 {
-	struct object_id oid;
 	struct commit *cmit, *gave_up_on = NULL;
 	struct commit_list *list;
 	struct commit_name *n;
@@ -293,30 +295,25 @@
 	unsigned long seen_commits = 0;
 	unsigned int unannotated_cnt = 0;
 
-	if (get_oid(arg, &oid))
-		die(_("Not a valid object name %s"), arg);
-	cmit = lookup_commit_reference(&oid);
-	if (!cmit)
-		die(_("%s is not a valid '%s' object"), arg, commit_type);
+	cmit = lookup_commit_reference(oid);
 
 	n = find_commit_name(&cmit->object.oid);
 	if (n && (tags || all || n->prio == 2)) {
 		/*
 		 * Exact match to an existing ref.
 		 */
-		display_name(n);
+		append_name(n, dst);
 		if (longformat)
-			show_suffix(0, n->tag ? &n->tag->tagged->oid : &oid);
+			append_suffix(0, n->tag ? &n->tag->tagged->oid : oid, dst);
 		if (suffix)
-			printf("%s", suffix);
-		printf("\n");
+			strbuf_addstr(dst, suffix);
 		return;
 	}
 
 	if (!max_candidates)
 		die(_("no tag exactly matches '%s'"), oid_to_hex(&cmit->object.oid));
 	if (debug)
-		fprintf(stderr, _("searching to describe %s\n"), arg);
+		fprintf(stderr, _("No exact match on refs or tags, searching to describe\n"));
 
 	if (!have_util) {
 		struct hashmap_iter iter;
@@ -381,22 +378,21 @@
 	}
 
 	if (!match_cnt) {
-		struct object_id *oid = &cmit->object.oid;
+		struct object_id *cmit_oid = &cmit->object.oid;
 		if (always) {
-			printf("%s", find_unique_abbrev(oid->hash, abbrev));
+			strbuf_addstr(dst, find_unique_abbrev(cmit_oid->hash, abbrev));
 			if (suffix)
-				printf("%s", suffix);
-			printf("\n");
+				strbuf_addstr(dst, suffix);
 			return;
 		}
 		if (unannotated_cnt)
 			die(_("No annotated tags can describe '%s'.\n"
 			    "However, there were unannotated tags: try --tags."),
-			    oid_to_hex(oid));
+			    oid_to_hex(cmit_oid));
 		else
 			die(_("No tags can describe '%s'.\n"
 			    "Try --always, or create some tags."),
-			    oid_to_hex(oid));
+			    oid_to_hex(cmit_oid));
 	}
 
 	QSORT(all_matches, match_cnt, compare_pt);
@@ -434,15 +430,86 @@
 		}
 	}
 
-	display_name(all_matches[0].name);
+	append_name(all_matches[0].name, dst);
 	if (abbrev)
-		show_suffix(all_matches[0].depth, &cmit->object.oid);
+		append_suffix(all_matches[0].depth, &cmit->object.oid, dst);
 	if (suffix)
-		printf("%s", suffix);
-	printf("\n");
+		strbuf_addstr(dst, suffix);
+}
+
+struct process_commit_data {
+	struct object_id current_commit;
+	struct object_id looking_for;
+	struct strbuf *dst;
+	struct rev_info *revs;
+};
+
+static void process_commit(struct commit *commit, void *data)
+{
+	struct process_commit_data *pcd = data;
+	pcd->current_commit = commit->object.oid;
+}
+
+static void process_object(struct object *obj, const char *path, void *data)
+{
+	struct process_commit_data *pcd = data;
+
+	if (!oidcmp(&pcd->looking_for, &obj->oid) && !pcd->dst->len) {
+		reset_revision_walk();
+		describe_commit(&pcd->current_commit, pcd->dst);
+		strbuf_addf(pcd->dst, ":%s", path);
+		free_commit_list(pcd->revs->commits);
+		pcd->revs->commits = NULL;
+	}
+}
+
+static void describe_blob(struct object_id oid, struct strbuf *dst)
+{
+	struct rev_info revs;
+	struct argv_array args = ARGV_ARRAY_INIT;
+	struct process_commit_data pcd = { null_oid, oid, dst, &revs};
+
+	argv_array_pushl(&args, "internal: The first arg is not parsed",
+		"--objects", "--in-commit-order", "--reverse", "HEAD",
+		NULL);
+
+	init_revisions(&revs, NULL);
+	if (setup_revisions(args.argc, args.argv, &revs, NULL) > 1)
+		BUG("setup_revisions could not handle all args?");
+
+	if (prepare_revision_walk(&revs))
+		die("revision walk setup failed");
+
+	traverse_commit_list(&revs, process_commit, process_object, &pcd);
+	reset_revision_walk();
+}
+
+static void describe(const char *arg, int last_one)
+{
+	struct object_id oid;
+	struct commit *cmit;
+	struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
+
+	if (debug)
+		fprintf(stderr, _("describe %s\n"), arg);
+
+	if (get_oid(arg, &oid))
+		die(_("Not a valid object name %s"), arg);
+	cmit = lookup_commit_reference_gently(&oid, 1);
+
+	if (cmit)
+		describe_commit(&oid, &sb);
+	else if (lookup_blob(&oid))
+		describe_blob(oid, &sb);
+	else
+		die(_("%s is neither a commit nor blob"), arg);
+
+	puts(sb.buf);
 
 	if (!last_one)
 		clear_commit_marks(cmit, -1);
+
+	strbuf_release(&sb);
 }
 
 int cmd_describe(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
diff --git a/list-objects.c b/list-objects.c
index d9e83d0..0966cdc 100644
--- a/list-objects.c
+++ b/list-objects.c
@@ -214,27 +214,17 @@
 	add_pending_object(revs, &tree->object, "");
 }
 
-static void do_traverse(struct rev_info *revs,
-			show_commit_fn show_commit,
-			show_object_fn show_object,
-			void *show_data,
-			filter_object_fn filter_fn,
-			void *filter_data)
+static void traverse_trees_and_blobs(struct rev_info *revs,
+				     struct strbuf *base,
+				     show_object_fn show_object,
+				     void *show_data,
+				     filter_object_fn filter_fn,
+				     void *filter_data)
 {
 	int i;
-	struct commit *commit;
-	struct strbuf base;
 
-	strbuf_init(&base, PATH_MAX);
-	while ((commit = get_revision(revs)) != NULL) {
-		/*
-		 * an uninteresting boundary commit may not have its tree
-		 * parsed yet, but we are not going to show them anyway
-		 */
-		if (commit->tree)
-			add_pending_tree(revs, commit->tree);
-		show_commit(commit, show_data);
-	}
+	assert(base->len == 0);
+
 	for (i = 0; i < revs->pending.nr; i++) {
 		struct object_array_entry *pending = revs->pending.objects + i;
 		struct object *obj = pending->item;
@@ -251,13 +241,13 @@
 			path = "";
 		if (obj->type == OBJ_TREE) {
 			process_tree(revs, (struct tree *)obj, show_object,
-				     &base, path, show_data,
+				     base, path, show_data,
 				     filter_fn, filter_data);
 			continue;
 		}
 		if (obj->type == OBJ_BLOB) {
 			process_blob(revs, (struct blob *)obj, show_object,
-				     &base, path, show_data,
+				     base, path, show_data,
 				     filter_fn, filter_data);
 			continue;
 		}
@@ -265,7 +255,42 @@
 		    oid_to_hex(&obj->oid), name);
 	}
 	object_array_clear(&revs->pending);
-	strbuf_release(&base);
+}
+
+static void do_traverse(struct rev_info *revs,
+			show_commit_fn show_commit,
+			show_object_fn show_object,
+			void *show_data,
+			filter_object_fn filter_fn,
+			void *filter_data)
+{
+	struct commit *commit;
+	struct strbuf csp; /* callee's scratch pad */
+	strbuf_init(&csp, PATH_MAX);
+
+	while ((commit = get_revision(revs)) != NULL) {
+		/*
+		 * an uninteresting boundary commit may not have its tree
+		 * parsed yet, but we are not going to show them anyway
+		 */
+		if (commit->tree)
+			add_pending_tree(revs, commit->tree);
+		show_commit(commit, show_data);
+
+		if (revs->tree_blobs_in_commit_order)
+			/*
+			 * NEEDSWORK: Adding the tree and then flushing it here
+			 * needs a reallocation for each commit. Can we pass the
+			 * tree directory without allocation churn?
+			 */
+			traverse_trees_and_blobs(revs, &csp,
+						 show_object, show_data,
+						 filter_fn, filter_data);
+	}
+	traverse_trees_and_blobs(revs, &csp,
+				 show_object, show_data,
+				 filter_fn, filter_data);
+	strbuf_release(&csp);
 }
 
 void traverse_commit_list(struct rev_info *revs,
diff --git a/revision.c b/revision.c
index f6a3da5..72f2b45 100644
--- a/revision.c
+++ b/revision.c
@@ -1855,6 +1855,8 @@
 		revs->dense = 0;
 	} else if (!strcmp(arg, "--show-all")) {
 		revs->show_all = 1;
+	} else if (!strcmp(arg, "--in-commit-order")) {
+		revs->tree_blobs_in_commit_order = 1;
 	} else if (!strcmp(arg, "--remove-empty")) {
 		revs->remove_empty_trees = 1;
 	} else if (!strcmp(arg, "--merges")) {
diff --git a/revision.h b/revision.h
index 747bce8..19dc9bd 100644
--- a/revision.h
+++ b/revision.h
@@ -121,7 +121,8 @@
 			bisect:1,
 			ancestry_path:1,
 			first_parent_only:1,
-			line_level_traverse:1;
+			line_level_traverse:1,
+			tree_blobs_in_commit_order:1;
 
 	/* Diff flags */
 	unsigned int	diff:1,
diff --git a/t/t6100-rev-list-in-order.sh b/t/t6100-rev-list-in-order.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b2bb0a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t6100-rev-list-in-order.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='rev-list testing in-commit-order'
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+
+test_expect_success 'setup a commit history with trees, blobs' '
+	for x in one two three four
+	do
+		echo $x >$x &&
+		git add $x &&
+		git commit -m "add file $x" ||
+		return 1
+	done &&
+	for x in four three
+	do
+		git rm $x &&
+		git commit -m "remove $x" ||
+		return 1
+	done
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rev-list --in-commit-order' '
+	git rev-list --in-commit-order --objects HEAD >actual.raw &&
+	cut -c 1-40 >actual <actual.raw &&
+
+	git cat-file --batch-check="%(objectname)" >expect.raw <<-\EOF &&
+		HEAD^{commit}
+		HEAD^{tree}
+		HEAD^{tree}:one
+		HEAD^{tree}:two
+		HEAD~1^{commit}
+		HEAD~1^{tree}
+		HEAD~1^{tree}:three
+		HEAD~2^{commit}
+		HEAD~2^{tree}
+		HEAD~2^{tree}:four
+		HEAD~3^{commit}
+		# HEAD~3^{tree} skipped, same as HEAD~1^{tree}
+		HEAD~4^{commit}
+		# HEAD~4^{tree} skipped, same as HEAD^{tree}
+		HEAD~5^{commit}
+		HEAD~5^{tree}
+	EOF
+	grep -v "#" >expect <expect.raw &&
+
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'rev-list lists blobs and trees after commits' '
+	git rev-list --objects HEAD >actual.raw &&
+	cut -c 1-40 >actual <actual.raw &&
+
+	git cat-file --batch-check="%(objectname)" >expect.raw <<-\EOF &&
+		HEAD^{commit}
+		HEAD~1^{commit}
+		HEAD~2^{commit}
+		HEAD~3^{commit}
+		HEAD~4^{commit}
+		HEAD~5^{commit}
+		HEAD^{tree}
+		HEAD^{tree}:one
+		HEAD^{tree}:two
+		HEAD~1^{tree}
+		HEAD~1^{tree}:three
+		HEAD~2^{tree}
+		HEAD~2^{tree}:four
+		# HEAD~3^{tree} skipped, same as HEAD~1^{tree}
+		# HEAD~4^{tree} skipped, same as HEAD^{tree}
+		HEAD~5^{tree}
+	EOF
+	grep -v "#" >expect <expect.raw &&
+
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_done
diff --git a/t/t6120-describe.sh b/t/t6120-describe.sh
index 1c0e865..3e3fb46 100755
--- a/t/t6120-describe.sh
+++ b/t/t6120-describe.sh
@@ -304,12 +304,46 @@
 	mv .git/modules/sub1/ .git/modules/sub_moved &&
 	test_must_fail git describe --dirty
 '
-test_expect_success 'describe ignoring a borken submodule' '
+test_expect_success 'describe ignoring a broken submodule' '
 	git describe --broken >out &&
 	test_when_finished "mv .git/modules/sub_moved .git/modules/sub1" &&
 	grep broken out
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'describe a blob at a directly tagged commit' '
+	echo "make it a unique blob" >file &&
+	git add file && git commit -m "content in file" &&
+	git tag -a -m "latest annotated tag" unique-file &&
+	git describe HEAD:file >actual &&
+	echo "unique-file:file" >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'describe a blob with its first introduction' '
+	git commit --allow-empty -m "empty commit" &&
+	git rm file &&
+	git commit -m "delete blob" &&
+	git revert HEAD &&
+	git commit --allow-empty -m "empty commit" &&
+	git describe HEAD:file >actual &&
+	echo "unique-file:file" >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'describe directly tagged blob' '
+	git tag test-blob unique-file:file &&
+	git describe test-blob >actual &&
+	echo "unique-file:file" >expect &&
+	# suboptimal: we rather want to see "test-blob"
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'describe tag object' '
+	git tag test-blob-1 -a -m msg unique-file:file &&
+	test_must_fail git describe test-blob-1 2>actual &&
+	test_i18ngrep "fatal: test-blob-1 is neither a commit nor blob" actual
+'
+
 test_expect_failure ULIMIT_STACK_SIZE 'name-rev works in a deep repo' '
 	i=1 &&
 	while test $i -lt 8000