diff --git a/swiftclient/client.py b/swiftclient/client.py
index 72dac8d9..ae16c175 100644
--- a/swiftclient/client.py
+++ b/swiftclient/client.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import requests
 import sys
 import logging
 import warnings
+import functools
 
 from distutils.version import StrictVersion
 from requests.exceptions import RequestException, SSLError
@@ -210,7 +211,8 @@ class HTTPConnection:
 
         self.resp.getheaders = getheaders
         self.resp.getheader = getheader
-        self.resp.read = self.resp.raw.read
+        self.resp.read = functools.partial(self.resp.raw.read,
+                                           decode_content=True)
         return self.resp