diff --git a/sdl.c b/sdl.c
index 034440f..8483bf9 100644
--- a/sdl.c
+++ b/sdl.c
@@ -850,6 +850,7 @@ void sdl_display_init(DisplayState *ds, int full_screen, int no_frame)
     flags = SDL_INIT_VIDEO | SDL_INIT_NOPARACHUTE;
     if (SDL_Init (flags)) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Could not initialize SDL - exiting\n");
+        fprintf(stderr, "SDL error: %s\n", SDL_GetError());
         exit(1);
     }
     vi = SDL_GetVideoInfo();