diff --git a/django/db/migrations/executor.py b/django/db/migrations/executor.py
index a78c09b5182..420fbca8b85 100644
--- a/django/db/migrations/executor.py
+++ b/django/db/migrations/executor.py
@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ class MigrationExecutor(object):
             with self.connection.schema_editor(collect_sql=True) as schema_editor:
                 project_state = self.loader.graph.project_state((migration.app_label, migration.name), at_end=False)
                 if not backwards:
-                    migration.apply(project_state, schema_editor)
+                    migration.apply(project_state, schema_editor, collect_sql=True)
                 else:
-                    migration.unapply(project_state, schema_editor)
+                    migration.unapply(project_state, schema_editor, collect_sql=True)
                 statements.extend(schema_editor.collected_sql)
         return statements
 
diff --git a/django/db/migrations/migration.py b/django/db/migrations/migration.py
index f65b6b2d0c1..06da84179bd 100644
--- a/django/db/migrations/migration.py
+++ b/django/db/migrations/migration.py
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ class Migration(object):
             operation.state_forwards(self.app_label, new_state)
         return new_state
 
-    def apply(self, project_state, schema_editor):
+    def apply(self, project_state, schema_editor, collect_sql=False):
         """
         Takes a project_state representing all migrations prior to this one
         and a schema_editor for a live database and applies the migration
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ class Migration(object):
         Migrations.
         """
         for operation in self.operations:
+            # If this operation cannot be represented as SQL, place a comment
+            # there instead
+            if collect_sql and not operation.reduces_to_sql:
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("--")
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("-- MIGRATION NOW PERFORMS OPERATION THAT CANNOT BE WRITTEN AS SQL:")
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("-- %s" % operation.describe())
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("--")
+                continue
             # Get the state after the operation has run
             new_state = project_state.clone()
             operation.state_forwards(self.app_label, new_state)
@@ -86,7 +94,7 @@ class Migration(object):
             project_state = new_state
         return project_state
 
-    def unapply(self, project_state, schema_editor):
+    def unapply(self, project_state, schema_editor, collect_sql=False):
         """
         Takes a project_state representing all migrations prior to this one
         and a schema_editor for a live database and applies the migration
@@ -95,8 +103,17 @@ class Migration(object):
         # We need to pre-calculate the stack of project states
         to_run = []
         for operation in self.operations:
+            # If this operation cannot be represented as SQL, place a comment
+            # there instead
+            if collect_sql and not operation.reduces_to_sql:
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("--")
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("-- MIGRATION NOW PERFORMS OPERATION THAT CANNOT BE WRITTEN AS SQL:")
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("-- %s" % operation.describe())
+                schema_editor.collected_sql.append("--")
+                continue
+            # If it's irreversible, error out
             if not operation.reversible:
-                raise Migration.IrreversibleError("Operation %s in %s is not reversible" % (operation, sekf))
+                raise Migration.IrreversibleError("Operation %s in %s is not reversible" % (operation, self))
             new_state = project_state.clone()
             operation.state_forwards(self.app_label, new_state)
             to_run.append((operation, project_state, new_state))
diff --git a/django/db/migrations/operations/special.py b/django/db/migrations/operations/special.py
index 7bd4ac2117b..89b13c46a04 100644
--- a/django/db/migrations/operations/special.py
+++ b/django/db/migrations/operations/special.py
@@ -132,3 +132,6 @@ class RunPython(Operation):
 
     def database_backwards(self, app_label, schema_editor, from_state, to_state):
         raise NotImplementedError("You cannot reverse this operation")
+
+    def describe(self):
+        return "Raw Python operation"